Kabelo Tlhabanelo
Free State cattle rustlers were arrested just moments after stealing 11 cows when their getaway driver turned out to be an undercover cop.
Police received a tipoff about a plan to steal 11 Bonsmara cattle worth R220,000, and realised that the suspects didn’t have a plan in place for a getaway.
A police officer who asked to remain anonymous said: “We discovered that the suspects did not have a truck to transport the cattles from the farm they were stealing them from”.
So cops from Odendaalsrus police stock theft unit and Welkom Public Order Police organised for a truck driven by an undercover cop to meet them at the farm in Wesselsbron.
The officer said the thieves promised to pay R2,500 to the driver if he helped transport the stolen animals.
The thieves managed to get one cow into the vehicle before police waiting nearby pounced on them.
When they tried to load the 11 stolen cattle on the truck, more cops pounced on the men, who then tried to make a run for it. But, unlike the thieves, the police unit was well prepared and caught up with them with ease.
Scrolla.Africa spoke with the cattle owner who said he was pleased with the rustlers’ arrests and did not want to comment further.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele confirmed the arrests of three suspects aged between 33 and 35.
“Eleven stolen Bonsmara cattle valued at R220,000 were positively identified by the farmer and handed back to him,” Makhele said.
The suspects will appear in the Wesselsbron Magistrate’s Court on Monday 20 September.
