An interstate gang allegedly involved in stealing poultry from Malda district and sending those to the Northeast was nabbed by Englishbazar police early on Wednesday.

Eight persons, seven from different areas of Baishnabnagar in Malda district and one from Jharkhand, were arrested in this connection.

According to police sources, the gang had barged into a poultry farm in Lalalpur of Englishbazar. They overpowered guards, fastened and gagged them and started loading the poultry in their SUV.

The shrieks of the poultry woke up people near the farm. Sensing something unusual, one of them called up the police.

Madanmohan Roy, inspector-in-charge, Englishbazar police station, said police already had reports of poultry theft in large volumes from different farms of the district.

“Our men immediately acted on the tip-off and reached the spot. Seeing the police, the gang members tried to escape in their vehicle. We managed to intercept them soon,” Roy said.

He added that no weapon was found on them, which was “intriguing”.

“We suspect they concealed the arms somewhere and will interrogate them on this,” the inspector-in-charge said.

During the primary interrogation, the accused admitted to stealing poultry and selling them to buyers in Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and other Northeast states.

“They could easily transport stolen livestock as there is no ban on carrying poultry by road. We suspect more gangs are involved in similar crimes,” said a police officer.

The arrested youths were produced at a local court where the Jharkhand resident was sent to police custody and the rest seven to judicial custody for five days.