Senior court official arrested and his vehicle seized in KZN

Photo credit: Olga Ernst via Wikimedia Commons

A senior court official at Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal in one of two people arrested in connection with stock theft in the Vryheid area on Friday.

The official, together with a co-accused arrested at the same time, will now appear in familiar surroundings at the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court on Monday to face charges of stock theft, cruelty to animals, defeating the ends of justice and possession of a dangerous weapon.

A vehicle belonging to the official has also been seized since it was allegedly being used in the commission of a crime.

Police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, said members of the Stock Theft Task Team were alerted about illegal slaughtering of cows on a farm at Brakfontein and rushed to the area.

CARCASSES OF FIVE COWS FOUND

On arrival they found five men there, two of whom were taken into custody while three managed to flee the scene. Police recovered the carcasses of five pregnant cows as well as ropes, axes and knives.

Two arrested suspects, aged 40 and 44, were taken to Vryheid Police Station for processing and it was subsequently determined that one of them was the court official.

“An investigation to link the suspects to similar cases is continuing. The livestock owner was not even aware of the theft when the police alerted her and she positively identified her livestock,” Mbele said.

SUSPECT KILLED IN SEPARATE INCIDENT

Meanwhile, in another incident in KZN that may be linked to stock theft, a suspect was shot dead near Isipingo on Friday when police tried to stop a bakkie that had blood coming from the back.

It sped off with police in pursuit and a shootout later ensued between the vehicle’s three occupants and the officers.

Two suspects were able to flee the scene, but a firearm with the serial number filed off was found at the crime scene, along with the body of the dead suspect and the carcass of a cow.