Toopran: Toopran police busted an inter-state cattle smuggling racket on Friday. In the process, 8 persons were arrested including the seizure of Rs 75,000 cash, 11 cellphones from the smugglers including 8 knives used by the robbers to threat or kill the persons who try to thwart their robbery. The police took 14 cattle into their control from the thieves.

Speaking at the press meet at his office, Toopran DSP said, the smugglers were caught in the vehicle check up by CI Lingeshwar and SI Nagarjuna Goud at Allapur toll plaza while they were transporting the cattle by the container after the theft of the leashed domestic animals alongside the motorway in Medak and Siddipet district. When the police questioned about the cattle in the container bearing number HR 55S 7611, the smuggler tried to escape leaving the vehicle. But the police managed to catch them along with cellphones, cash and 8 sharp weapons.

Explaining about their modus operandi, the police said the miscreants used to unleash the highway side cattle during the midnight and transport them to Hyderabad by containers to sell them out for cash. If anyone obstructs or question about their smuggling, they used to threaten them with knives or kill them at times.

The arrested smugglers were including Mobin, Alijohn, Mushraf, Nissar, Nannu Singh, Amir Khan and the two brokers Hyderabadi brokers Mansoor and SK Ismail Khureshi. So far, the inter-state gang had committed 8 similar crimes under the limits of Toopran, Gajwel, Gauraram, Markook, Lingala Ghanapur, Neredigonda and Bhuvanagiri police stations in five districts in the past. The Toopran DSP praised the bravery of CI and SI to nab the deadly gang.