Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force has arrested a wanted criminal carrying a reward of ₹50,000 in connection with a cow smuggling case registered in Chandauli district, officials said.
According to an official press note issued by the STF, the accused, Arif Hussain, son of Najakat Hussain and a resident of Azad Nagar under Majhola Police Station, was arrested on March 9, 2026.
The arrest was made by the STF field unit of Noida under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Mishra and Deputy Superintendent of Police Navendu Kumar. Acting on intelligence inputs, an STF team led by Sub-Inspector Akshay P.K. Tyagi traced the accused in the industrial area of Sonipat in Haryana and brought him to the STF office at Surajpur Police Station, where he was formally arrested at around 6:05 pm after verification and questioning.
Arif Hussain was wanted in Case No. 424/2024 registered under Sections 3, 5, 5A and 8 of the Cow Slaughter Prevention Act and Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act at Chandauli Police Station. He had been absconding and a reward of ₹50,000 had been announced for information leading to his arrest.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that he had joined hands with an associate named Haseeb, a resident of his locality who was already involved in cattle smuggling. Arif allegedly purchased a container vehicle in his own name and used it to transport cattle for illegal smuggling operations.
On May 25, 2024, he reportedly arranged for cattle to be loaded into the container from forest areas near Kanpur and sent them through Bihar towards West Bengal with members of his gang. Police in Chandauli had earlier arrested several members of the gang and sent them to jail, while Arif had managed to evade arrest until now.
The accused has been handed over to the local police in Chandauli for further legal action. Officials said investigations are underway to gather more details about the network and other criminal activities linked to the accused.
