Mooibank farmer identifies stolen cattle in Lichtenburg
The cattle will be kept at Lichtenburg pound to prove ownership through DNA testing.
Stilfontein Police Station received information about stolen cattle yesterday, 27 March. The information was followed up by the station after which a vehicle transporting the cattle was pulled over and escorted to Ventersdorp Police Station for investigation.
Four cattle were found on a trailer hitched to the vehicle which was then inspected for brandishes, tattoos or ear tags. The station discovered that no ownership marks were found on the cattle, except for hair brand marks of the driver transporting the cattle and claiming ownership of said cattle.
Information and pictures of the cattle was circulated on WhatsApp groups, but no evidence could be found to arrest the driver and to lay hold of the cattle. The driver and cattle were released as no grounds for an arrest was found.
After releasing the driver and cattle, information was received from the complainant that he owns the now-released cattle and that the cattle was stolen from his property in the Mooibank area outside Potchefstroom.
A volunteer of a community safety group in Potchefstroom and a Lichtenburg Community Policing Forum (CPF) member assisted the Lichtenburg Police in locating the stolen cattle through road cameras.
After the cattle were located, the complainant came to the Lichtenburg Police to identify his cattle. As stated before, the cattle had no brandishes, tattoos or tags that proved the complainant’s ownership which meant that no legal identification could be made. The suspect could not be arrested and the vehicle and cattle could not be seized.
The cattle will be kept at the Lichtenburg pound pending further investigations, as well as DNA testing to proof ownership of the complainant.
