Following the crackdown on illegal transport of cattle to slaughterhouses in and around the city, the new trend is to illegally transport meat, according to the police.
On Friday morning, a team of Animal Welfare Board officials, with the help of RMC Yard police, caught a goods vehicle carrying 3,000 kg of beef to Shivajinagar market from Koppal.
The police arrested Amjad, Arif, Mujeeb, Jabbar, and Aziz and booked them under the provisions of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The police seized the vehicle and burnt the meat on the city’s outskirts.
“This is a new trend in an attempt to hoodwink officials as transporting meat is easier than transporting cattle,” a senior police officer said.
Officials of the Animal Welfare Board, with the help of the city police, have seized 4,500 kg of beef brought to the city from Hosapete and Koppal since the last week of July.
Board officials said meat is often transported illegally from Ramanagaram, Channarayapatna, and Ballari.
