If you’re one of those people who really love their ‘posto’ (poppy seeds) with their vegetables, then there’s some bad news for you. If your dealer got the posto from Posta, an area in north Kolkata, then it might be adulterated with corn seeds. A whole racket of adulterated poppy seeds has come to light after a police team raided the markets at the Kolkata neighbourhood on Thursday.
After receiving a tip-off, a team from the Enforcement Branch went to a shop in plain clothes and sought to see the different kinds of poppy seeds on sale. The shopkeeper, Manish Kumar Gupta, showed them the varieties and quoted the prices, some of which shocked the police.
Upon entering the shop and finding sacks of maize seeds kept along with poppy seeds, the policemen enquired about it. Gupta replied that this was natural if one wanted good poppy for less price. It was then that the rest of the team arrived, wearing police uniforms. A shocked Gupta didn’t get the time to react and was arrested in no time.
A sample of the poppy mixed with maize seeds has been sent to the labs for testing. According to reports, Gupta used to peddle his ware in different markets. He will be produced in a court on Friday. Police are hoping for more names to come up in the investigation, and more such fraudulent dealers to be brought to justice.
updated on 06-09-2021
