Four suspects aged between 29 and 43 appeared in the Utrecht Magistrates’ Court facing stock theft charges. The matter was remanded to 1 March 2021 and the suspects were released on a warning.
There was a concern about a number of stock theft cases that were reported at Utrecht SAPS by farmers since December 2018 until July 2019. Detectives from the Stock Theft Unit took over the investigation and they worked tirelessly tracing the suspects as well as the stolen cattle.
An operation by the Utrecht Stock Theft members was conducted from July 2020 and it yielded positive results when twenty-five cattle were recovered from another farm in Grootvlei and four suspects were arrested at their homestead in the same area.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner for KwaZulu-Natal, Major General Thulani Gonya, commended detectives from the Stock Theft Unit for the breakthrough. “Stock Theft still remains a concern for us in this Province. We are urging communities to refrain from buying stolen stock and meat sold by stock thieves. Communities are urged to come forward and report the activities of stock thieves to their local police on Crime Stop on 08600 10111,” he said.
