A truck carrying 53 smuggled cattle was intercepted by the Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday, thereby nabbing six Indian nationals near Dawki in West Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya which is located near the international border with Bangladesh.
A BSF statement reported that the manner the cattle were being transported was in contravention to Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Acts.
On being questioned the alleged cattle smugglers revealed that those cattle were transported from Guwahati (Khanapara) and they consisted of various cattle breeds which were generally not found in the North Eastern states.
They also disclosed a new modus operandi adopted while transporting these cattle to deceive police personnel on duty at various checkpoints, including inter-state border along the national highway, BSF stated.
To tackle this menace, BSF urged the concerned state authorities to conduct joint operation in these areas and also place checkpoints at suitable locations.
A study conducted by BSF on cattle smuggling has revealed a link with drug smuggling in the state and the money generated through smuggling is used for funding remnant insurgent groups active in Meghalaya.
NNN