TSOLO NEWS - Members of the OR Tambo District Stock Theft Prevention Task Team recovered more than 200 suspected stolen animals during operations in Tsolo and Qumbu on Wednesday, 8 October.

The coordinated operations, which targeted known stock theft hotspots across the district - including Bityi, Tsolo, Qumbu, Mthatha and Libode - resulted in the recovery of 109 sheep in Tsolo and 98 cattle in Qumbu.

According to police reports, the team was patrolling the Mthatha area shortly before 01:00 when they received a call via the 10111 control centre about a stock theft in progress at Mhlakulo, Tsolo. 

Thieves had allegedly broken into a kraal and driven away 109 mixed sheep, valued at approximately R189 000. 

The team, accompanied by the owner, managed to recover all the sheep after the suspects abandoned them upon seeing police.

Later that morning, in Mahlungulu, Qumbu, officers received information about 98 mixed cattle, valued at about R890 000, being monitored by suspects in nearby grazing fields. 

On arrival, police found the livestock but no suspects. 

The animals were impounded at the Qumbu Municipal Pound. Some of the cattle bore different or no brand marks, leading police to suspect they may have been stolen.

Police have urged anyone who has lost livestock in the area to visit the Tsolo or Qumbu municipal stock pounds to identify and claim their animals.

Acting OR Tambo District Commissioner, Brig. Vukile Ntuli, praised the team for their swift action, saying their work “demonstrates the SAPS’s ongoing commitment to curbing stock theft in rural communities.” 

He also warned perpetrators that “their days are numbered as police are right on their heels.”

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