BEAUFORT WEST – A joint operation targeting stock theft in Beaufort West led to the arrest of two individuals this past weekend. The operation involved the Beaufort West Stock Theft and Endangered Species Section, the Central Karoo K9, and the Rural Flying Squad.
According to South Africa Police Service, on Friday, 27 October 2023, the team responded to information about possible stock theft at a farm near the N1 highway. Officers arrested a man found with five sheep and charged him with stock theft. The following day, patrols along the N1 led the team to a suspicious Toyota Corolla. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered five carcasses inside, confiscated them, and arrested the driver on a charge of possession of stolen property. Further investigation led police to a nearby farm from which the livestock had been stolen.
The suspects, ages 25 and 48, are currently in police custody and are scheduled to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 30 October 2023, on charges of stock theft.
In a separate incident on Saturday, 28 October 2023, Beaufort West police seized a large drug consignment with an estimated street value of R7.2 million. The drugs were found on the N1 between Three Sisters and Richmond near Murraysburg, following a collision between two delivery trucks. Police discovered 25,000 mandrax tablets, 17 kilograms of tik, and three bags of cocaine in the luggage compartment of one of the vehicles involved in the accident. The driver of that truck, traveling from Johannesburg to Cape Town, sustained serious injuries and was declared deceased at the scene by paramedics.
The Western Cape Provincial Detectives are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the drugs.