Seven held for cattle-smuggling, truck and car seized

Mangaluru: Seven persons were arrested and two vehicles were seized for illegally transporting cattle in Belthangady on Saturday. Seventeen animals were also rescued.
Acting on a tip-off, police stopped two vehicles carrying cattle from Kolhapur in Maharashtra to Kasargod in Kerala. The vehicles—a truck and a car—were stopped at Sabarabail. It was found that the cattle were being illegally transported for slaughter houses.
The police arrested truck driver Hyder, a resident of Venur and Abdul Rahiman, Babu, Manjegowda, Abdul Rahiman, Mohammed Mustafa and Mohammed Akbar.
According to police, the gang, which made cattle trade a profession, was involved in the business for a long time. The car was used as escort for the container truck.
The gang purchased the cattle for a low price in Kolhapur and were transporting them to slaughter houses in Kasaragod, where they are being sold for higher price.
A few days back, they had managed to transport two loads of cattle successfully but failed in third time.
A case has been registered at Belthangady police station.