Udupi: The Udupi police arrested two men for trafficking cattle at Ambalapady junction on Thursday morning. Five cows and 16 calves were rescued.

Sadiq (31) from Kulai and Iqbal (28) from Kuloor were arrested while Asif and Shameer managed to escape.

The police received a tip off that cattle were being trafficked in a pickup van from Brahmavar. The police on night patrol attempted to stop the vehicle at about 3.15 am on Thursday morning, but the driver did not stop the vehicle. The police chased the vehicle and intercepted it at Ambalapady junction. The four tried to escape but the police managed to catch two.

It is said that the cattle were stolen from Barkur and they were transporting them to Mangaluru. The van and two mobiles were also seized.