Bhopal, May 31 (IANS) Five people have been arrested in Madhya Pradesh with 450 kg of poppy straw hidden inside air conditioners being transported in a container truck, police said Monday.

The seizure took place on the Mandsaur-Ratlam highway, about 400 km from here. The truck was on its way to Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.

‘Twenty bags of poppy straw were hidden inside the air-conditioners. The truck belonged to a company in Delhi,’ Superintendent of Police G.K. Pathak said.

The official buying rate for poppy husk is Rs.100 a kg but it is sold for Rs.2,000-5,000 per kg in the black market.