Crackdown on stock theft

THE Eastern Cape police's crackdown on stock theft continued yesterday when officers from Uitenhage arrested four men in the early hours of the morning.

The men, aged between 20 and 30, were nabbed after farmers in the theft-plagued areas surrounding Nelson Mandela Bay intercepted them as they were allegedly fleeing a farm where they had stolen five sheep.

Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Gerda Swart said officers from Uitenhage's K9 and stock theft unit were notified at about 11.45pm after farmers saw suspicious activity on a farm.

"Around 3am officers noticed the suspect vehicle with five occupants and ordered them to stop," Swart said.

On searching the Hyundai Accent, officers found five sheep tied up on the back seat and in the boot.

The men were arrested and charged with stock theft, and are due to appear in the Uitenhage Magistrate's Court soon.

The arrests come only a day after a man was arrested at the Fairview informal settlement when members of the Port Elizabeth K9 and stock theft units tracked missing sheep from a farm in Greenbushes.

Late last month another four suspects, believed to be part of a stock theft gang connected to the theft of hundreds of sheep, were arrested near Uitenhage.

Loyiso Siwisa, 24, Anele Johnson, 34, Bongani Modile, 30, and Mandlenkosi Booi, 22, will appear in the Uitenhage Magistrate's Court again soon. - Riaan Marais