Balasore: Bhadrak police seized five vehicles near Seragada tollgate on National Highway-16 in the district Monday morning for illegally smuggling cattle.
Police arrested five persons in this connection.
According to a source, police had been tipped off about the illegal transportation of the cattle from Bhadrak to West Bengal. Locals informed the police that five containers loaded with cattle were moving from Bhadrak and that the vehicles would cross Seragada toll gate in the wee hours.
Then a police team reached the spot before trying to intercept the vehicles at Bhadrak town. However, the vehicles managed to give them a slip. Finally they managed to stop the pick-up vans at around 5:00 am a few kilometers from the Seragada toll gate.
Police rescued more than hundreds of cattle from the vehicles and arrested five persons in this connection. The cops also seized the five pick-up vans in which the cattle were being smuggled.
The rescued cattle have been kept at Balasore Gaushala.
Police are interrogating the five arrested to find out about others involved in this illegal cattle trade.
PNN