Berbice man arrested with stolen, slaughtered cattle
The canter in which the slaughtered animals were found
A man is now in custody after he was allegedly found transporting mean said to have been stolen from a Corentyne cattle farmer.
Police have said that at about 2:30h on Friday, acting on information, they conducted an operation at Auchlyne Village, Corentyne Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) in which they intercepted one blue Canter (lorry), GVV 1269, owned and driven by a 48-year-old labourer of New Amsterdam, Berbice.
A search was conducted on the canter and the following was found: one light brown cow, one spotted cow, and two dark brown cows, all of which were slaughtered into quarters with skin and branded X87M.
The driver was questioned about the animals, and reportedly could not give a satisfactory explanation, thus he was arrested.
Mootoosammy Baljeet showing where the fence was cut to let the animals out
About two hours later, the owner of these animals, a resident of Letter Kenny Village Corentyne, went to Whim Police Station and identified the animals as his property by the brand number, and also stated that the animals were not sold.
The farmer, Mootoosamy Baljeet, called ‘Bai’, said he sleeps in a little shed built in the cow pen. He said at about 03:00h he awoke and realized that the animals were out. Upon checking, he found that a section of the fence had been cut, and a few animals were in a pasture nearby. After checking, he was of the opinion that two were missing.
According to the cattle farmer, there was one cow left in the pen, and it had a rope around its neck. He said the rope does not belong to him.
Baljeet decided to go onto the road, and as he got to the head of his street, he was stopped by the Police and questioned. After relating his story, he was told that the Police had just intercepted a vehicle with the carcasses.
He said he was taken to the Whim Police Station, where he was able to identify all four animals as his. The meat was released to the farmer. Baljeet said each cow is worth about $200,000
Cattle rustling on the Corentyne has been a worrying issue for the Police. Baljeet said he has about 50 head of cattle, and it was the first time he had suffered any loss by way of theft.
Meanwhile, Police reportedly visited the home of a man who allegedly ran away when the lorry was intercepted, but they were not able to locate him.
The investigations are continuing. (G4)
