An 18-year-old boy from Mmashoro village has been arrested after he was found in possession of a suspected stolen goat carcass on Saturday.
The incident began earlier in the day when a 54-year-old farmer from the same village released his goats to graze. However, by the afternoon, one goat was missing. According to Senior Superintendent Paul Oketsang, the No. 2 Officer Commanding, the farmer tracked his goats' tracks until he discovered the missing goat's footprints. The farmer then eventually discovered the skin and head of the missing goat in a bush, where it had been slaughtered. He then followed the footprints from the crime scene, leading him to the suspect's residence, the police chief said. However, Oketsang said through their preliminary investigations they have since established that the suspect wasn't alone and was in the company of other two young men who are still at large and they have launched a probe to locate and arrest them.
"We suspect that they have shared the goat's carcass amongst the three of them," Oketsang said. "Stock theft remains a concern in Central District and we plead with farmers to consider going out with their livestock when they go out to graze because we have observed that criminals hang around grazing areas to steal livestock." Oketsang said in most cases stock theft criminals steal and slaughter livestock and sell their carcasses to butcheries and street vendors who are always available to buy their meat something that fuels stock theft in the area.
