Ahmedabad cow slaughter gangs follow bootleggers' routes

Ever wondered how beef illegally sold in the open markets in the slums of the city escapes the eyes of the police department? How do hundreds of illegal retailers operate freely in the city? In fact, the cow slaughter gangs follow the successful modus operandi of bootleggers.

Sources familiar with the illegal beef trade, on the condition of anonymity, told DNA that the gangs pay the local police and ensure they turn a blind eye to their activities.

The cow slaughter gangs mainly comprise people who were earlier involved in small time extortion. “They have adopted the formula of bootlegging, which is easily replicable in illegal cow slaughter,” the sources said.

The gang picks up a cow from any area and brings it to a pre-decided place where it is slaughtered. The beef and other body parts are delivered at different places in small consignments. “Eventually, the retailers sell the illegal beef under the protection of the cow slaughter gangs,” the sources said.

The trade is similar to the selling of illegal Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), which is smuggled to a pre-decided area and later delivered in small consignments. Here also retailers sell under the protection of the wholesalers who pay a hefty amount to the police.