Giridih police today seized a herd of 47 cattle including bulls, cows and calves and arrested seven persons, said SP Giridih Surendra Kumar Jha.
Police said the Giridih police on Wednesday busted an international animal trafficking gang near Gawa and Tisari and rescued the cattle worth more than Rs 20 lakh.
Police said that the traffickers were in a bid to smuggle the herd of cattle to Bangladesh via Gurabanda, which is 20 km away from Giridih headquarters.
The route is considered to be a safe den and passage corridors for trafficking.Police arrested Kamlesh Yadav, Jitendra Prasad, Mitu Yadav, Birju Saw, Sudhir Rai, Binod Nath Goswami and Ghanshyam Mandal all are from different districts of Bihar.
Circle Inspector P Liyangi said that the rescued animals were kept in a shelter house in Giridih under tight security.
Police said that for the past few days, they were receiving some information from Giridih district about some cows and bulls being smuggled.
According to the information, the cattle were first being brought to Kolkata via Giridih and then taken to Bangladesh. Sources informed that from there, the herd was to be taken to Chingra in West Bengal, and then all the way to Bangladesh.
The Gawa and Tisari police stations area are under the influence of Naxals and borders Bihar, Bengal and Jharkhand. This makes it easier for smugglers to sneak animals across the Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal.
Police sources said that a new corridor to smuggle animals is being built in Gawa and Tisari in Giridih where the perpetrators first enter Jharkhand and then take cattle to Chingra in Bengal. From there, the heard is sent to Bangladesh in big vehicles.