On the 20 May 2021 at about 07:00 an intelligence driven operation was conducted after information about suspected stock thieves was received.
Odendaalsrus Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit led by Detective Warrant Officer Coen De Beer, Crime Intelligence, Welkom Public Order Policing Reaction Team, Welkom K9 Unit as well as Wesselsbron Safety Coordinators were activated after ten (10) sheep were stolen in Bloudrif farm in Wesselsbron district.
Observation was kept for a while until a sedan vehicle was spotted with a trailer and a request was made to search the vehicle. Whilst members were searching the vehicle, sheep carcass was found inside the boot.
Then the three occupants were interrogated and gave information which led SAPS members to a house in Monyakeng where six sheep carcasses were found inside a shack. The fourth suspect was arrested, whilst the fifth one was arrested later on after fleeing the scene.
The five suspects are aged between 20 and 55.
Three of them were connected to another stock theft case where 35 sheep were stolen and 13 slaughtered.
The five suspects will appear in Wesselsbron Magistrate Court on the 24 May 2021 on stock theft charges.
