Interpol's South African spokesman, Captain Dennis Adriao, confirmed that the police seized the dogs yesterday morning.

In recent days the smuggling of stolen South African dogs to the rest of Africa has been in the headlines.

Interpol has facilitated the interception of consignments of dogs on the border between Namibia and Angola.

Adriao said the animals were now in the custody of a vet at an undisclosed location.

"They are being kept by a vet until we can repatriate them. We are assisting the various countries involved with the investigation.

"We've been able to identify only some of them as stolen," he said.

It is believed some of the dogs were stolen in Cape Town,

Earlier this month, a Namibian woman raised the alarm when she came across a bakkie in Ondonga, near the Angolan border, into which about 10 dogs were crammed.

"I was in my car standing next to the bakkie. I turned and looked straight into the blue eyes of a husky.

"He looked so helpless and it was as if he was asking me to help. I saw he was tied to the bakkie with rope and wire," said the woman, who is afraid to be named.

"I asked one of the men in the bakkie: 'What are you going to do with them?' He said he was going to take them to a farm . Then the driver said he was going to sell them."

The woman and her daughter decided to follow the bakkie and then went to a local police station for help.

There were no vehicles at the station so a female officer jumped into the vehicle with the mother and daughter and they pursued the bakkie.

The officer pulled the men over. They were later released but eventually arrived at the Angolan border, where Interpol took over.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

IF YOU believe that your dog has been stolen you should report your suspicions at the nearest police station, Interpol spokesman Captain Dennis Adriao said.

"We also encourage people to fit their dogs with identification, such as a microchip . or dog tags. This will make it easier for the police and other authorities to establish if the dogs are stolen and track down the owners."

He said people should also report thefts to the local SPCA.

People with info about dog thefts and syndicates should call Crime Stop on 08600-10111.