Media Statement from Mpumalanga Media Centre
Corporate Communication
South African Police Service

17 March 2014

NELSPRUIT - Today 17 March 2014, at approximately 08:00, police in Lothair near Ermelo have arrested a 24-year-old man for being found in possession of suspected stolen livestock.

The diligent members were busy with their routine patrol when they spotted a suspicious looking Toyota Tazz on the road between Lothair and Mpuluzi. They stopped it and conducted a search. They then discovered that all the passengers' seats were removed and the vehicle loaded with 20 sheep. The driver failed to produce any permit to transport the stock or proof of purchase on request. He was nabbed on the spot and taken to the police station for further interrogation. During the process, it emerged that the sheep were stolen from a certain farm in Lothair. The police also discovered that 16 of the sheep were already dead due to suffocation.

The suspect will appear before the Ermelo Magistrates' Court tomorrow, 18 March 2014.

-End-

Media Enquiries:

Colonel Leonard Hlathi
Mobile: 082 462 0804 or 082 556 5574
Issued by the Corporate Communication Directorate
South African Police Service, Mpumalanga Provincial Office