Prayagraj (UP), March 18 (PTI)

A man was arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj for illegally cultivating opium poppy on rented land, with police seizing plants and pods worth an estimated Rs 1.5 crore, officials said on Tuesday.

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Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ganganagar) Kuldeep Gunawat said that on Monday, authorities received information that Housla Prasad Patel and his 19-year-old son, Neeraj Patel, were cultivating opium poppy along with other crops on rented farmland in Dhaukari Kachar village under the Handia police station limits.

Following the tip-off, a team comprising the Handia police station in-charge, an assistant commissioner of police, a tehsildar, and revenue officials raided the site. Neeraj Patel was caught red-handed while irrigating the opium plants. Officials seized 1,736 opium poppy plants and 2,193 pods, with an estimated market value of Rs 1.5 crore.

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Based on the seizure and arrest, a case has been registered under Sections 8/18 of the NDPS Act at the Handia police station, and further legal proceedings are underway.

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