On Monday (6th May), the UP STF arrested a member of a gang involved in beef (cow meat) smuggling to other nations, including those in the Gulf. The arrested individual has been identified as Mohammed Zubair Qureshi. The police in Jalaun had placed a reward of Rs 50,000 on him.
Zubair had been absconding for over 5 months after he and five others were booked in a beef smuggling case when trucks carrying 21 tonnes of beef were seized in December of last year. Local police are now pursuing further legal action in this matter.
According to reports, the police had received intelligence that Mohammed Zubair and his gang were active in various districts of Uttar Pradesh, smuggling beef to nations in the Gulf and other regions.
Konch Circle Officer Umesh Kumar Pandey stated that on 21st December 2023, acting on intelligence, the Kotwali police recovered 21,000 kilograms of suspicious meat in a container near the toll plaza during a vehicle check. Upon inspection of the documents, the police found that they were forged, and the meat was being transported illegally. Subsequently, the police filed a case against six individuals.
It was later revealed that the meat seized from those containers was beef. Five individuals were arrested in connection with the case and remanded to jail. Mohammed Zuber Qureshi, son of Mohammed Laik, and a resident of Jagatpuri, East Delhi, had been absconding. Following instructions from higher officials, a reward of Rs 50,000 was declared for his capture. Finally, the UP STF arrested him from Hotel Eurasia Palace under the Dhampur police station in the Bijnor district with the assistance of Jalaun Police.
During interrogation, Zubair confessed that on 20th December 2023, he fabricated a bill under the guise of seafood/fish from New Delhi, while in reality, banned cow meat (beef) was loaded into a container and shipped to Chennai. Following the registration of the case, a reward was placed on him, prompting him to go into hiding.
CO Pandey stated that during interrogation, Mohammed Zubair Qureshi, who had a reward of Rs 50,000 on him, confessed to sourcing beef from Kishanganj, Bihar. He admitted to fabricating invoices and other paperwork, and then shipping the beef to various destinations such as Vietnam, Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Iran, etc., via Chennai. Currently, the police have taken action against the accused and he has been remanded him to jail.