Sambalpur: Excise officials on Monday claimed to have unearthed illegal opium cultivation for the first time in Odisha’s Sambalpur district.
Sources said, the officials have seized opium plants valued at over Rs 70 lakh during a pre-dawn raid at Gopalpur area under Rairakhol police limits and detained three people who were at the cultivation site.
According to Excise Superintendent of Sambalpur, Ashok Kumar Seth, they had got reliable information about opium cultivation in the area. Excise officials along with local police raided Gopalpur area under Naktideula block and detained three persons who were present at the cultivation site, he added.
Nearly 10,000 opium plants grown on a patch of 40-decimal land were seized.
According to Excise sources, the department has for the first time detected opium farming in the district.
Earlier, the department in its crackdown had destroyed ganja plantation several times in this part of the state.
It was stated that locals of Gopalpur were inspired by some people of neigbhouring Jharkhand to raise opium instead of ganja as it was stated to be more profitable.
