Stock thieves have a new 'creative' modus operandi

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The police in KwaZulu Natal have issued a warning to livestock owners in the province to be aware of thieves' latest modus operandi.

The stock theft unit says these criminals are targeting livestock owners whom they have already robbed by pretending to be police officers who found their animals.

The criminals would then tell the victim that his animals were found in a different province and would be transported back if they deposit an amount of R2000.00 into their bank accounts.

Police will never request cash from any victim. Investigators will, in fact, assist complainants and would drive complainants by State vehicles to view the alleged recovered livestock if photos could not be obtained.

Owners who are contacted by the thieves should "play along" and get as many details as possible:

• a number of the person who called.
• date and time of the call.
• name and surname of the person who called.
• address where the livestock could be viewed.
• account number of the account into which the money should be paid and the account holder name.
• An e-mail address or another cell number where confirmation of payment should be forwarded.