The arrest and seizure of dead fowls definitely proves the sale of dead birds to restaurants is still on despite consumers' concern, the police said.

On information, a team of Sutrapur Police Station nabbed the five with the chickens from an abandoned house in Kaptanbazar at around 11:00am.

Police yesterday took the arrestees -- Lalon, 35, Sattar, 29, his wife Aleya Begum, 37, Selim, 29, and Helal, 38, -- to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka that sent them to jail.

"The arrestees during interrogation admitted they had collected the dead chickens, abandoned by local poultry farms, to sell those to restaurants and poor labourers," said the investigation officer of the case.

Earlier on April 2, Sutrapur police arrested mess operator Jahanara Begum with 21 dead chickens.

Mirpur police also arrested a man with 53 dead birds he was going to supply to local restaurants on March 29.

The police said they had arrested three persons with 35 dead fowls from Mirpur about six months ago.