The Bloemfontein police with the help of members of private security forces, arrested five men on suspicion of the theft of sheep stolen in Vanstadensrus.
The members of the Bloemfontein Highway Patrol on the N1 saw a suspicious 1 ton Tata truck on Tuesday (04/07) at around 05:30 and tried to pull the vehicle off the road, but it sped away.
Police members of the Parkweg Client Service Centre were also on patrol and were called to assist. They managed to stop the vehicle on the Ferreira-offramp.
Two suspects were arrested and 30 sheep were found in the Tata.
While members were busy with the arrest, they received another call for backup from the Bloemfontein Stock Theft Unit who were tailing another suspicious silver Toyota Hilux bakkie on the N1. This vehicle was blocked and the driver collided with the roadside barriers while trying to evade arrest.
Three suspects from the Toyota bakkie were arrested and 15 sheep were recovered.
The five males that were arrested are between the ages of 50 and the youngest being a minor of 16 years. There was 45 sheep with an estimated worth of R90 000 recovered from the two vehicles.
Investigation revealed that the lifestock was stolen from a farm in the Vanstadensrus area and the owner was made aware of the positive identification through branding marks.
The five suspects will appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court soon for posssion of suspected stolen lifestock and stock theft.
