Agartala, Oct 1 (IANS): Tripura Police have arrested three people for trafficking stray dogs to other northeastern states, police said here Monday.

"Police acting on a tip-off arrested the three tribals with seven grownup dogs tied inside jute sacks at Kamalpur, 145 km north of here, Sunday night," a police official told reporters.

The official said that the trio was arrested under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and presented before a court, which granted them bail asking them not to leave the state without prior permission of the court.

During interrogation, the detainees told the police that the dogs were to be smuggled to neighbouring Mizoram and Nagaland.

"According to the dog lifters, each grownup dog fetches between Rs.2,000 and Rs.2,500 in Mizoram and Nagaland as dog's meat is a favourite food there. They also said that they have been involved in this job for the past few months," the police official said.

"We caught these dogs from various parts of the Kamalpur (in northern Tripura) by tranquilizing the animals with some medicine along with food and tied them up inside jute sacks keeping the head open," Baika Darlong, one of the three detainees, told the police interrogators.

Smuggling of stray dogs is a new phenomenon in this northeastern state.

Earlier in April, Tripura Police had arrested three people, including a woman, at Gandacharra in northern Tripura for trafficking dogs to Mizoram. Seven grown up dogs were recovered from them.