Sastan tollgate: Police arrest 6 for cattle trafficking

Kundapur:  Six people were arrested by Kota police in connection to cattle trafficking from north Karnataka to slaughter house in Kasaragod. The arrest was made during an early morning operation near Sastan toll gate. The cops also rescued the cattle being transported.

The arrested are identified as as Shivananda, Maruti Narayana Naika, Ganesh, Sainuddin, Hamid C H and Sameer, residents of Mangaluru and Kasaragod. The operation conducted based on a tip off was conducted by Kota SI Nityananda Gowda, and accordingly 13 male buffaloes and seven female buffaloes were rescued.

Operation synopsis

The police stopped the vehicle at 5 am on Friday at the Sastan toll gate. On seeing the police jeep, the driver tried to escape however; the police obstructed the movement of the truck with their jeep and prevented the truck from escaping. A white coloured Tata Indica car that was following the truck was also stopped.

Under interrogation, it was revealed that the cattle were being taken to be sold Abdulla, a native of Kasaragod. The estimated cost of 13 male buffaloes and seven buffaloes is said to be around Rs 65,000 and 35,000 respectively.

The cattle in question were being transported in a heavy 12-wheeler truck, covered with tarpaulin on top in the guise of transporting   Tiles and Marble stones to avoid suspicion. The registration number plate of the truck was of Rajasthan, while the white Tata Indica car with two occupants was tailing the truck as its rearguard.  It is suspected that the cattle must have been stolen from somewhere. Kota police station has registered a case in this connection.