FREE STATE – Four men have been arrested in connection with a stock theft case near Viljoenskroon following a coordinated operation by the Fezile Dabi District Infrastructure Task Team. Police said the arrests followed intelligence received on Thursday evening, 9 April indicating that a group was planning to steal sheep from a farm along Vredefort Road.
Acting on the information, members of the Kroonstad Infrastructure Team launched a targeted waylay operation. At about 05:30 on Friday, officers intercepted a suspicious bakkie travelling along the R76 near Viljoenskroon. The vehicle, which was not displaying registration plates, was stopped near a smallholding. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 12 sheep carcasses.
The four occupants, aged between 43 and 49, were arrested at the scene. Subsequent investigations led officers to a nearby farm, where a further four sheep carcasses believed to have been stolen were recovered. The suspects remain in custody, while the vehicle allegedly used in the commission of the crime has been seized for further investigation.
They are expected to appear in the Kroonstad Magistrate’s Court in the coming days on charges of stock theft.
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