The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Panchmahal district received a tip-off that a pick-up van passing through the town in the wee hours of Friday was transporting poppy straw. (Image: Representative Photo)The Gujarat Police Friday arrested two persons for allegedly smuggling 820 kilogram of poppy straw (posh doda) camouflaged with green capsicum on the Indore-Dahod highway in Godhra under Panchmahal district.The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Panchmahal district received a tip-off that a pick-up van passing through the town in the wee hours of Friday was transporting poppy straw. Accordingly, accompanied by a team from the Godhra B division police station and panch witnesses, the SOG police laid watch for the suspected vehicle on the highway. The police said that the illegal stash of poppy straw was hidden away in 37 bags under 95 plastic bags of capsicum.“When the suspected vehicle was spotted near Abram Patel Muvada pick up stand, the police cordoned off the vehicle and began primary inspection. On being questioned, the driver identified himself as Buddhram alias Anilkumar Kishanlal alias Kishanram Bishnoi, and an accomplice was identified as Sohanlal Thakraram Bishnoi – both residents of Jalore district in Rajasthan…” SOG Police Inspector R A Patel told this publication.Patel added that the accused were driving the pick-up van with a Gujarat registration but were headed with the stash of poppy straw from Madhya Pradesh to Sanchore in Rajasthan. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) conducted a test at the spot and confirmed that the seized stash was opium.“On weighing the recovered contraband, it was found to be 820.832 kilograms of an estimated value of Rs 24.63 lakhs. We are now investigating if the vehicle being used to transport the contraband was also a vehicle acquired by theft, which is usually the modus operandi of those smuggling narcotics…” the officer further said.The arrested accused have been booked under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Two others have been declared wanted, including a Rajasthan-based supplier identified as Udhram Bishnoi.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Gujarat