500 kg poppy straw seized in J&K's Kathua, 3 arrested

In a major drug haul, the police on Monday seized 500 kg of poppy straw and arrested three smugglers from a Punjab-bound truck in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. The truck was intercepted at Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, after special checking points were established following an input about transportation of a huge quantity of narcotic substance outside the state, a police officer said.

The poppy straw was concealed in bags inside the truck, he added. Showkat Ahmed Dar, Imran Khan and Shahid Nazir-- all residents of south Kashmir's Shopian-- were arrested and booked under the NDPS act, the official said.