Career stock thieves keep cops on toes
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday June 20, 2023 06:00
The business of stealing and selling, especially cattle to butcheries and small-scale caterers in Gaborone, Kanye, and Lobatse amongst other areas is well organised with even intelligence units.
The Botswana Police Service operation aimed at nabbing stock theft has unearthed that livestock, especially pregnant cows are under siege. According to the police, well-organised stock thieves who are mostly repeat offenders are behind most animals found stolen.
Speaking to this publication over the weekend, Police Spokesperson Dipheko Motube revealed that since the operation started on the first day of June, they have arrested and questioned dozens, 15 suspects are currently before courts.
“We restarted the operation on the first of this month and we arrested suspects in relation to 55 animals. These included 34 cattle, 17 sheep, seven goats, two horses, and nine carcases of different livestock. The suspects have since appeared before customary courts in Khakhea, Maokane, Kgomokasitwa, Kopong, and the Francistown Stock Magistrate's Court,” he said.
According to Motube, they have bases across the country in Kgomokasitwa, Phietswane, Maokane, Mahetlwe, Malolwane, Khudumelaptswe, Nata, and Tonota with intentions to cover other areas as the operation continues. Motube said they had chosen to start at the stated areas as they had proven to be problematic from the 2018 operation.
“We are dealing with syndicates who take stock theft as their career. They are well-organised with proper organisational structures just like regular companies with employers and employees. They are well-resourced with even intelligence units. Our intention is to disband them and it is not an easy task,” he said.
Motube said they had identified such syndicates in Ga-Sita, Mogobane, Metlobo, Maokane, and Khakhea. He said a lot of the suspects were on bail for stock theft and kept on doing it each time they get bail.
He said the cattle population was under threat as the drought season means mostly pregnant cows would be stolen. “We are facing a mammoth task, cattle are killed daily, especially the pregnant ones. They would kill those close to giving birth, sell the meat to butchers, and sell calves to feedlots as zero tooth cattle currently in high demand,” he said. Motube called on Batswana to take care of their cattle and watch closely especially pregnant cows. “These syndicates are serious, they are always on the lookout for targets at watering points and eventually they strike. People should rather keep their pregnant cows under their watch or in their ploughing fields. Once they steal, they quickly pass on the animals to butcheries and food caterers in places like Gaborone, Lobatse, and Kanye,” he said.
Latest from the operation
According to the latest press release from the police, Operation Kgomokhumo operatives last week arrested nine suspects in connection with the possession of carcasses of suspected stolen cattle and donkey biltong.
In Lehoko Village near Jwaneng Township, two men of the same village were arrested by Kgomokhumo operatives after they were found in possession of Biltong and cooked meat of a suspected stolen donkey.
Up north, seven suspects aged between 23 and 37 appeared before Francistown Stock Magistrate Court on Friday, facing a single count of Stealing Stock. According to a charge sheet read before Court, the suspects on or between June 13 and 14 at Chadibe village near Francistown, acting jointly with a common purpose, stole two cows.
The accused persons were arrested by Kgomokhumo operatives in the City of Francistown, Chadibe, and Jackalas No2 villages after they were found in possession of suspected stock produce. Part of the stolen produce mainly hides, heads, and hoofs was excavated from the Shashe River in Chadibe.