GUJRANWALA, Feb 25: The range police claimed to have arrested 686 members of cattle lifters’ gangs and recovered a huge quantity of illicit arms and cattle worth Rs44.3 million from their possession within a period of one-and-a-half months.

DIG Zafar Abbas Lak said here on Saturday that the police also registered 1,062 fresh cases and traced out 95 old ones.

He pointed out that around half a dozen inspectors were deployed at Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin and Hafizabad to register old cattle theft cases committed last year. They registered 435 cases within a fortnight by the end of January this year after making announcements through mosques’ loudspeakers.

As many as 102 cases were registered in Gujranwala, 33 in Sialkot, one in Narowal, 46 in Gujrat, 173 in Mandi Bahauddin and 80 in Hafizabad, he said. While some 886 cattle and 156 arms were also recovered during the period.

He revealed that around 27 harbourers were also arrested during the drive.