Health Alert After Thieves Steal ‘Toxic’ Poppy Plants

A sign reading ‘Keep Out’ is seen at a flowering poppy field near Devonport, Tasmania, Australia, on Dec. 15, 2020. Farms in Tasmania produce about 50 percent of the world's licit poppy straw that is later refined into opiates such as morphine and codeine. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Thieves have stolen hundreds of “toxic” poppy heads from a rural farm, prompting a public health alert over the potentially life-threatening products.

Police are investigating after intruders looted about 1,700 dried poppy plants from a farm in Ballarat between Feb. 14 and 16, police said.