Tensa: Police and Excise officials Saturday destroyed poppy plants worth more than Rs 30 lakh in the Koida area of Sundargarh district and detained two persons in connection with the illegal cultivation.
According to police, the poppy crop was being cultivated on nearly five acre of forest land near the Gatapundhi Pokhari forest area under Koida police station limits.
The plants had grown fully and had begun fl owering. Acting on a tip-off, the operation was carried out under the direction of Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani.
The raid was led by Koida PS OIC Rajendra Swain, K Balang OIC Ashok Behera, Excise officials and Koida Tehsildar Nirmal Kumar Biswal.
Police said preliminary investigation indicated that the illegal cultivation had links extending beyond Odisha to West Bengal and Jharkhand.
The two detained persons are being questioned, and further investigation is underway, police said.
