An interstate drug racket was busted with the arrest of three individuals from Rajasthan accused of transporting and selling poppy straw. The arrests were made on Monday by the Rachakonda Police in Telangana.

Poppy straw, classified as a narcotic substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, refers to the husk left after opium is extracted from poppy pods.

According to Rachakonda Commissioner of Police G Sudheer Babu, police teams acted on a tip-off and apprehended the accused on Sunday evening within the jurisdiction of the Meerpet police station. During the operation, 53.5 kilograms of poppy straw, valued at approximately Rs 1.25 crore, were seized.

An official release revealed that the accused sourced the poppy straw from a drug peddler in Madhya Pradesh before transporting and selling it to customers in and around Hyderabad. Police also confiscated three mobile phones and other incriminating materials from the suspects.

“Efforts are underway to trace and apprehend the absconding accused, as well as the receivers and consumers associated with this racket,” the release stated. The police continue their investigation to dismantle the wider network linked to the operation.