Stock theft cops nab suspects during night walk with goats

12 May 2016 - 12:06 By Matthew Savides

Two men’s late-night walk with 11 goats was suspicious enough to attract the attention of patrolling police in KwaZulu-Natal who quickly established that the animals had been stolen. At about 9pm on Wednesday night‚ officers from the Kokstad Stock Theft Unit came across two men walking with goats in the mountainous Swartberg area near Matatiele.Having received information that stock thieves were in the area‚ the officers stopped and questioned the men.“The suspects were apprehended and they could not give a satisfactory explanation about these goats. They were arrested and charged with possession of stolen property‚” said KZN SAPS spokesman Major Shooz Magudulela.It appears that the two – aged 22 and 30 – were taking the goats from the Eastern Cape into KZN. They were due to appear in court on Thursday.A week earlier‚ goats worth about R50,000 were handed back to their owner after the same unit received information about a theft in the Umzimkhulu area on the KZN south coast.Twenty two of the 33 stolen goats were recovered in Mandeni on the north coast‚ more than 280km away.Provincial police commission Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni said the unit had proven extremely successful in dealing with stock theft.She also praised community members who had provided tip-offs to officers. - TMG Digital/Sunday Times..

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