Excise authorities in Koppal district recovered 5.98 kg of opium powder, valued at Rs 3.15 lakh, during a raid on a hotel near the Vanageri toll plaza on National Highway 50 in Kushtagi taluk on Wednesday, October 22. The operation, conducted around 1:20 pm, resulted in the discovery of the contraband hidden within the establishment’s premises.
The search team, led by Excise Sub-Inspector Neelamma Galagali, located two plastic buckets in a wood storage room. One bucket was open and contained a white plastic bag filled with a powder-like substance suspected to be opium, while the second bucket was sealed. The officers recorded the search on video and weighed the material, finding that the two bags contained 2.99 kg each, totaling 5.98 kg. According to the Excise Department, the seized substance was valued at Rs 3.15 lakh, with each bag estimated to be worth Rs 1,57,500. The Deputy Commissioner of Excise, Koppal, stated in a release that the material was sealed for inventory proceedings before a magistrate.