Jaisalmer: In a joint operation, Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in Barmer and Nagana police seized 5.096kg illicit opium latex, estimated to be worth Rs 25 lakh, from a farm in Khawadiya village of Barmer Sunday. The police arrested Harchand Ram (41), a resident of Khawadiya under Nagana police station limits.ANTF Inspector General Vikas Kumar said the task force received specific intelligence that Harchand Ram had concealed a large quantity of illegal narcotics in his agricultural field. After verifying the information, the ANTF team shared the input with the local police and conducted a joint raid at the farm in the Khawadiya Khanji Ka Tala area.Seeing the police team, a man allegedly attempted to flee by taking cover behind the harvested pearl millet crop. However, the police cordoned off the area and apprehended him.During a thorough search of the field, the team found a steel container concealed inside a plastic sack beneath a pile of harvested millet stalks.Three plastic packets inside the container were found to contain 5.096kg of opium latex.The police seized the contraband and arrested Harchand Ram under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.According to the ANTF IG, the accused came into contact with the local narcotics trade in Barmer in 2018 and initially began supplying doda post (poppy husk) locally. As his alleged earnings from the illegal trade increased, he gradually expanded his operations to supplying larger quantities of opium and doda post.Kumar said three previous cases under the NDPS Act had been registered against the accused at Nagana and Rural police stations. He had also been sent to jail in connection with these cases.Despite facing previous legal action and obtaining bail, the accused allegedly returned to the illegal narcotics trade and continued his activities, eventually coming under the ANTF’s radar again.The seizure is part of intensified action against illegal narcotics trafficking in the run-up to the panchayat elections. Further investigation is underway to establish the source of the seized opium and identify possible links in the supply network.
