BSF held 2 Indian smugglers, Seized 790 gms Raw Opium near Assam Bangla Border

Guwahati: Border Security Force (BSF) conducted a special operation in the area of responsibility of Guwahati Frontier and apprehended two Indian smugglers along with 790 gms suspected raw Opium from State Highway No. 12 near Ichhaganj under district Coochbehar (WB) on 12^th July 2019.

On a tip-off, troops of BSF Border Outpost (BOP) Chenakata launched a special operation in general area of Ichhaganj under District Coochbehar (WB) on 12^th July 2019. As per information BSF party stopped a Mahendra Jeep, bearing registration no. WB 63-3640 on State Highway No 12 near Ichhaganj which was plying from Nayarhat to Mathabhanga.

During the search of the vehicle, the BSF Party recovered one packet of raw opium which is black brown sticky. Total weight of seized raw opium is 790 gms approx. In this regard FIR lodged with Mathabhanga PS in the names are as under:-

The suspects along with seized raw opium were handed over to PS –Mathabhanga (WB) for further legal action.

Keeping in view the vulnerability of border, heightened activities of the smugglers and anti-national elements on the border, BSF troops are always alert towards the issues of trans-border crimes & illegal infiltration and are making all-out efforts to prevent the commission of such crimes.

It may be mentioned that Opium (poppy tears, with the scientific name: Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy (scientific name: Papaver somniferum). Approximately 12 percent of the opium latex is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade.

The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word "meconium" (derived from the Greek for "opium-like", but now used to refer to newborn stools) historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies.

The production methods have not changed since ancient times. Through selective breeding of the Papaver somniferum plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent the baine has been greatly increased. In modern times, much of the thebaine, which often serves as the raw material for the synthesis for oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and other semisynthetic opiates, originates from extracting Papaver orientale or Papaver bracteatum.

For the illegal drug trade, the morphine is extracted from the opium latex, reducing the bulk weight by 88%. It is then converted to heroin which is two to four times as potent and increases the value by a similar factor. The reduced weight and bulk make it easier to smuggle.

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