Source: Zim, Bots police bust cattle rustling syndicate – NewsDay Zimbabwe
BY SILAS NKALA
TWENTY-ONE cattle believed to have been stolen in neighbouring Botswana were recovered in Mnyangane area in Gwanda on Saturday following a cross-border blitz involving Zimbabwean and Motswana police officers.In a statement, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said the beasts were being driven into the country by five suspects who fled into the bush when police closed in on them.
“The ZRP commends the good working relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana Police Services which have led to the recovery of 21 cattle reportedly stolen in Botswana on March 26. A team of police officers from Botswana and the public teamed up with ZRP members and tracked the spoor of a herd of cattle which was being driven from Botswana towards Mnyangane area by five unknown suspects. Upon noticing that they were being followed, the suspects fled, leaving the cattle,” the ZRP tweeted.
Matabeleland South Anti-Stocktheft Association chairperson Victor Sibanda said the suspects were known.
Last month, farmers from Botswana’s Semolale area claimed that they had lost 118 cattle to Zimbabwean cattle rustlers, with some recovering their beasts in Gwanda.
Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe last week said several police officers had been arrested, with others transferred for their alleged links to stocktheft syndicates.
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