Silchar: Four Bangladeshi nationals and an Indian man have been detained in Assam’s Sribhumi district in connection with a suspected cross-border cattle smuggling operation, police said on Tuesday.Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by deputy SP Mukut Kakati and Badarpur police station OC Manas Pratim Bora conducted a late-night operation at Mahakal village on Monday and detained the four Bangladeshi nationals.The men were identified as Rezaul Karim, Sabbir Ahmed, Russell Ahmed and Hasan Ahmed, all residents of Zakiganj in Bangladesh’s Sylhet district.Police also detained Fazal Uddin, a resident of Jagadishpur village under Katigorah in neighbouring Cachar district. Investigators suspect he acted as a local intermediary in the alleged transportation of cattle and buffaloes across the India-Bangladesh border.Preliminary investigation suggests that the four Bangladeshi nationals entered India illegally through the Tukurgram border area. Police suspect they had crossed over to facilitate the movement of cattle towards Bangladesh.Investigators are tracing the route allegedly used by the four men to cross the international border and reach Badarpur without detection. They are also probing whether the five detainees are linked to a wider cross-border cattle smuggling network operating across Sribhumi and Cachar districts.The case has brought border surveillance in the region under renewed focus, with police examining whether other local operatives helped facilitate illegal crossings and the movement of cattle.“Further investigation is underway to identify others. Legal action has been initiated as per law,” a Sribhumi police officer said.
