Three men aged 22-31 were arrested yesterday, 20 January 2020 in Makhanda, after they were found with an illegal firearm, three sheep carcasses, and sheep skins.
South African Police Service spokesperson Captain Khaya Tonjeni said the arrest followed after a case of stock theft was reported by a local farmer. The farmer had found 10 slaughter sites on his farm, leading him to realise 10 sheep had been stolen and slaughtered.
The South African Police Service’s Crime Intelligence, the Operational Command Centre and the Port Alfred Dog Unit had co-operated closely, Tonjeni said. First, they had recovered an illegal firearm. Later they visited a house in Extension 7 where a man was found with three sheep carcasses, three dorper sheep heads, five feet and six skins. His clothes were bloody.
When the man was questioned further about the firearm, he’d taken the police to his residence at Ethembeni location and shown them a 300-calibre magnum hunting rifle which he told the police he had been given by his friend – “a well-known stock thief”.
Three men were arrested and charged with stock theft and possession of an unlicensed firearm, Tonjeni said. They are expected to appear in the Magistrate’s Court in Makhanda on 23 January 2020.
“The investigation continues,” Tonjeni said.
Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga commended the arrest and the efficiency of the members who were following up on the case. “We need to arrest all those responsible for stock theft including those who continue to support this illicit trade,” said the Commissioner.
