The Pune Police have seized 66 illegally cultivated opium plants from a farm in Haveli taluka's Alandi Mhatobachi village, officials said on Saturday. The farm owner, identified as Mangal Jawalkar (45), has been detained, they added.
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According to the information received, Loni Kalbhor Police got a tip-off on Friday at around 3pm that opium plants were being illegally cultivated at a farm in Alandi Mhatobachi village. Immediately, the police raided the farm and found 66 illegally cultivated opium plants, worth ₹40,000, weighing four kilograms. The police seized the plants and also detained the woman landowner. A case has been registered against her under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Rajkumar Shinde, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Pune City and Assistant Police Commissioner (Hadapsar Division) Anuradha Udmale. The operation was led by Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Panhale, Sub-inspector Anil Jadhav and their team from Loni Kalbhor Police Station.
This is not the first time that illegal opium has been seized from this area. In the past, two cases of such cultivation were reported from here.
