Police spokesperson, Ian Gaobepe, says the men aged 52, 46 and 29 were arrested after they were found in possession of 44 sheep believed to have been stolen from a farm in Edenville. 

He says the arrest came after police received a call from a farmer on Sunday about a suspicious truck travelling from Edenville to Kroonstad. 

"Local farmers noticed the suspicious truck and followed it “just to make sure that they know in which direction the truck is travelling so that they can inform police. Thanks to the (farmer’s) gut the suspects were arrested. The arrest could not have happened if it wasn’t for the farmer’s involvement and the good existing working relationship between police and the farming community. 

Members of the Kroonstad K-9 Unit then also found the white delivery truck and pulled it off. The Meatmaster sheep were found in the back of the truck.

Goabepe says the police appreciate support received from farmers and also lauded the fact that the farmers involved did not take the law into their own hands. 

He says they were able to determine that the sheep belong to a farmer in the area.

The suspects were expected to appear in the Kroonstad Magistrate’s Court on a charge of possession of suspected stolen property.

OFM News