LIMPOPO – A 54-year-old man was remanded in custody after he appeared in court on Thursday (October 20) for the theft of cattle.
“An investigation was launched to clamp down on a believed syndicate that steals cattle from small-scale farmers in the Lephalale, Tolwe, Mokopane, Marken and surrounding areas. The stolen cattle then gets sold on auctions,” police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said in a statement.
The intelligence driven joint operation consisted members of the National Tactical Response Team, Tolwe detectives, the provincial stock theft unit, as well as the Steiloop Stock Theft Forum.
The team’s investigation on October 17-18 led them to a number of possible suspects in the area and they recovered six stolen cattle that were left on the side of the road to be picked up and sold at a local auction.
“Local police officers noticed a bakkie with a trailer travelling at a high speed and pulled the driver of the vehicle over. During crossover examination one person in the vehicle was linked to previous stock theft incidents,” Mojapelo confirmed.
Further investigations led the team to his farm in the Tolwe area where police officials discovered five more stolen cattle.
The man will again appear in the Senwabarwana Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (October 25).
The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, in a statement commended the members for the well-co-ordinated operation and thanked community members for their support to curb stock theft incidents in the province.
The police urge residents to report any suspicious persons or vehicles transporting livestock to the police immediately.
“We are call on livestock owners who might have recently lost their cattle to visit the livestock pound in Bochum to identify the seized cattle, or call the branch commander, Warrant Officer Paul Makhutja on 082 414 1882,” Mojapelo concluded.
