NOORWESTER – VENTERSDORP/KOSTER - The fight against crime in rural areas gained momentum after police arrested eight suspects in two separate incidents. In the first incident reported in the early hours of Friday, 19 July, information was received about a suspicious vehicle on the N14 road (between Ventersdorp and Carletonville).
Klerkskraal police, assisted by Potchefstroom Flying Squad managed to stop two taxi vehicles and arrested six suspects, aged between 23 and 45 after they could not account for 30 sheep and 18 goats found inside the two taxis. They appeared before the Ventersdorp Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 22 July, for being in possession of suspected stolen property.
In another separate incident reported later on the same night, Boons police members on patrol on the R509 road (between Derby and Magaliesburg), noticed a suspicious Toyota Quantum taxi. The vehicle was stopped and two passengers jumped out of the vehicle and ran off, but police arrested two others. When searching inside the taxi, police found 37 goats that the suspects could not account for.
The duo, aged 30 and 38, appeared before the Koster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 22 July, for possession of suspected stolen goats.
In both these cases, the animals were not marked. SAPS urges farmers to mark their animals according to the Animal Identification Act, 2002 (Act No 6 of 2002), because many court cases are lost because of disputes regarding the proper identification of animals. If an animal is marked with a registered brand or tattoo, disputes will be avoided.
