KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, March 9: Acting on a tip-off, a team of police arrested a 38-year-old man with 700 grams of opium and Rs 2.5 lakhs in cash under Chowka thana area in the adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan on Thursday.
Identified as Sujit Kumar Sahu, the arrested person is a resident of Carriage Colony in the Burmamines locality of the steel city and was caught while smuggling opium from the Chowka area which has emerged as an opium hub of late.
Revealing the breakthrough, Chandil sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Sanjay Singh said that they got a tip-off that a man was coming from the Tamar area on a bike, carrying opium and would move towards Bhuinyadih in Chandil.
“On the basis of the information, the Chowka thana OC, Dharmraj Kumar set up a checking point at Dirlaung crossing along the NH-33 and intercepted a biker who tried to evade the checking. On being searched, the police found a packet containing 700 grams of opium and Rs 2.49 lakhs from his possession,” said Singh while addressing the media.
The SDPO pointed out as the police have also seized a mobile phone from the biker, they are trying to find out the source of the opium he was smuggling from and also the destination where he wanted to get it disposed of by interrogating him at the Chowka thana.
In this connection, a case under NDPS Act has been registered against Sujit Kumar Sahu with the Chowka thana.
It may be mentioned here that poppy cultivation is being done at a large scale in the naxal-infested Chowka and adjoining Tamar area for making opium out of the poppy plants grown on the forest land. It was for the first time that an opium smuggler was arrested at Chowka while carrying the smuggled opium from Tamar due to the proactiveness of the Chowka police.
