The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Poppy cultivation detected in three more villages

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Poppy cultivation detected in three more villages

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, FEB. 10. The police on Thursday detected poppy cultivation in three more villages of Kolar district. The police cut and seized the crops which, if processed, would have yielded narcotics worth Rs. 60 crores.

The Inspector-General of Police (Central Range), Shankar Mahadev Bidari, told The Hindu that poppy had been cultivated in a systematic manner in these villages. "We suspect an organised racket and there is a possibility of poppy being illegally cultivated even in Tamil Nadu villages bordering the State, which have large forest tracts" he said.

Asked whether the police suspect an international link to the racket, he replied in the negative.

In the latest case, Mr. Bidari said, poppy had been cultivated on two plots measuring 2.5 acres each at Bantahalli village, off Masti, in Malur taluk and on two one-acre plots at Vemgal. The Kolar police have registered four cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Prevention) Act.

He said the police are verifying the ownership of these lands and have not arrested any one.

Bantahalli, off Masti, is 15 km from Dinneri Harohalli where Excise officials on Wednesday detected the first-ever illicit poppy cultivation in the State.

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