Four suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing 19 goats in the Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.

A resident, Ahmed Alhaji, told the Peoples Gazette that the suspects were arrested on Tuesday at about 6 p.m. after allegedly hiding the stolen goats in a house.

He said, “I heard that they kept the goats in abuse. Someone saw them and came to the police station and reported them.”

He added on the strength of the information, police officers traced the suspects to the identified house.

A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue, confirmed the arrest, saying 19 stolen goats were recovered.

“They stole 19 goats and three other accomplices are still at large. Only four persons have been arrested,” he said.

According to the source, the suspects are two men and two women and currently in police custody.

The source identified the alleged leader of the group as Alhaji Babasan, alleging that the stolen goats were kept at his residence in Tako-Wangwa

Efforts by The Gazette to spoke to the state police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, on the matter were not successful.

Calls to his mobile and SMS messages sent were unanswered as of the time this report was filed.