Nine held for opium poppy cultivation in AP

Nine persons were today arrested for allegedly cultivating illicit opium poppy on about 200 acres in different villages in and around Madanapalli division, 110 km from here.
Excise and Prohibition police told media persons at Chittoor, 70 km from here, that from January 27 to today, opium poppy cultivation was on in Chowdepalli, Somala, Thotapalli, Pungunur and some other villages in the western parts of the district.
The entire crop was destroyed by police, they said.
After interrogation of three farmers involved in the cultivation, six more persons, including two from Bangalore, suspected to be traders of opium poppy, were arrested.

They were remanded in custody, they said, adding, it was the first case of illicit farming of opium poppy in Andhra Pradesh.