MANGALDOI, March 5 � Officials of the State Excise Department registered a case against one Sattar Ali Munchi and another Kamaluddin of Magurmari, under Sections 18 and 25 of the Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 in connection with cultivation of banned poppy plants, tubes of which are used for extracting narcotic substances like opium, heroine, cocaine, commonly known as �aphing�, on Friday from village Magurmari under Dhula police station, some 20 kilometres from here.
The department assessed the weight of the tubes of the seized plants as 230 kgs. The value of the substances in the international market is yet to be assessed officially but sources here claim the value as not less than Rs 2 crore in the international market. According to an official source, the cultivation of poppy plantaion has been banned in India since the extract of the plant tube is found to be used in manufacturing of narcotic substances like Opium, Heroine, Cocaine etc., and such activities come under the control of Central Bureau of Narcotics, Gowalior, Madhya Pradesh.
The source further said that agricultural products are seized from a government land measuring about 3 bighas occupied by Sattar Ali Munchi and Kamaluddin.
Local sources said that the land was originally occupied by one Kamaluddin of Magurmari village but Sattar Ali of Burigaon,Kharupetia along with another person used to cultivate plants for the last two years on a temporary agreement taking advantage of the ignorance of the local people.
The sources further said that the local people were misguided about the identity of the plants by Sattar Munchi and his accomplice saying it to be cosmetic plants.The villagers also hinted at involvement of a nexus from Coochbehar area in West Bengal. It may be mentioned that recovery of narcotic plants reportedly is the first incident in the history of Excise dept here at Mangaldoi.
