Man caught with 16 kg poppy pods and ₹6,000 drug money in Chandigarh

Acting on a tip-off, a police team arrested Aslam, a resident of Milk Colony, Dhanas, around 4 pm.

The arrest led to the recovery of 16.2 kilograms of poppy husks and ₹6.7 lakh in cash, probably drug money. The accused failed to produce any legal authorization or license for possession of the banned substance, which led to his arrest under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The accused, Aslam, 39, has a limited educational background having studied only up to 5th grade and is believed to be a drug addict himself, according to police. Aslam works as a tricycle driver and owns a small dairy in Dhanas, they said.

Aslam's main involvement in the drug trade was supplying poppy husks to various areas in Chandigarh. According to police, he bought the drugs at a cheap price from an unknown person near the marble market in Dhanas.

He would then sell the drugs to local buyers at a higher price, capitalizing on drug demand in the region to make quick profits, investigators said. Aslam used his tricycle to transport the drugs.

After his arrest, Aslam was produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. The investigation is still ongoing and police are trying to identify a larger network that includes his suppliers and customers.