The Katsina State police command has arrested four suspected cattle rustlers and recovered 18 stolen cows at Tudun Iya Village in Funtua Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

The spokesman, DSP Abubakar Sadiq-Aliyu, disclosed this in a statement issued in Katsina on Friday.

According to him, the success recorded through coordinated operations was a major breakthrough in its ongoing crackdown on cattle rustling.

He said the arrest followed renewed directives by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, emphasising intelligence-led policing and heightened vigilance in vulnerable areas.

Mr Sadiq-Aliyu noted that on April 29 at about 11:30 a.m., police operatives on patrol intercepted three suspects who were found in possession of 18 cows suspected to have been rustled.

“During interrogation, the suspects failed to provide a credible explanation for the animals, and later confessed to the crime,” the police spokesman said.

According to him, the suspects disclosed that the cattle were to be delivered for sale.

“Acting swiftly on the information, police operatives tracked and arrested Adamu, 60, in connection with the offence, bringing the total number of suspects apprehended in the operation to four,” he said.

In a related development, he said that suspected armed bandits launched an attack on Kwandawa and Tigaga villages in Kankia LGA, rustling an unspecified number of cattle.

According to him, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Kankia, working in collaboration with his counterpart in Charanchi, promptly mobilised patrol teams to the scene following a distress call.

“The operatives trailed the assailants along the Kartaka and Gadar Yan Tulina feeder routes, where they engaged them in a gun battle.

“The police team overpowered the bandits, who sustained heavy casualties and fled into nearby bush paths, abandoning the stolen livestock.

“The recovered animals were secured, while the area was cordoned off to prevent further attacks,” Mr Sadiq-Aliyu explained. 

(NAN)