Police accused of facilitating cattle rustling in Berbice

The Region Six Livestock Producers Cooperative Society Ltd is accusing Police ranks attached to two stations in ‘B’ Division of facilitating cattle rustling.
Officers at the Berbice River Bridge were recently able to intercept a truck with stolen cattle being transported to be slaughtered. An alert constable noticed that the animals in the truck were carrying a fresh brand, and informed his superiors at

the outpost.
According to Chairman of the Region Six Livestock Producers Cooperative Society Ltd,  Roopnarine Matadial, the truck with the cattle would have been checked by officers at the Albion Police Station and the Lewis Manor Police Outpost situated along the East Coast Berbice Highway.
Matadial told this publication that cattle larceny has become a lucrative business in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne).
According to reports, the truck was taking six animals to an abattoir at West Coast

Berbice when it was intercepted.
Matadial explained that in order to pass animals in a vehicle, one would have to pay a fee of $10,000 per head of animal to obtain the pass at Albion. This is checked and verified at the Lewis Manor Outpost.
However last Friday, at Albion and East Coast Berbice, the officers apparently did not observe that the eleven head of cattle that were in the truck had a fresh brand that corresponded with the documents accompanying them but not with the original brand.
On Friday, a canter load of cows was intercepted at the Berbice Bridge checkpoint,

where it was discovered that the animals appeared to have been stolen. Mohamed Nadir Hussain, a farmer of Wellington Park, Corentyne, Berbice, the owner of the eleven (11) head of cattle, explained that he had taken his animals to graze on Thursday afternoon, but when he returned to his animals later that evening, he had noticed four of his cattle missing.
“I look for them and I couldn’t find them, and on Friday I get a call that four of my animals deh in a truck at Berbice Bridge and Police hold it up there. They told me to travel and go down and identify the animals. The Police take the animals to Central Police Station and I identify the four animals, and from there they took (them) to Whim Station, where they keep (them),” Hussain explained.
According to the cattle farmer, there were fresh brands on his animals, but his original brand was still visible.”
“I had my brand, C46M, on both sides of the animals,” he explained.
Another farmer, Sahadeo Etwaroo of Number 35 Village Corentyne, who owns 150

head of cattle, told this publication he had lost eight cows. He said he knew his cattle were missing only when he received a telephone call indicating that a truck had passed with the animals.
“I didn’t know my cows was missing. On the truck, two of the cows were mine. I don’t know where is the other six still,” he said. The farmer is of the belief that those have been killed and sold.
Matadial is calling on the relevant authorities to take swift action internally against Police allegedly condoning cattle rustling.
He claimed that a butcher on the West Coast of Berbice boasts that he can get stolen animals past any Police station in Berbice, since he has the contacts.
Those claims contradict utterances made by Berbice Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Lindon Alves, who has been supporting efforts by farmers and officers to hunt down stolen animals. Alves has also utilized the services of the Mounted Branch in the Division to track down stolen cattle with much success.
Matadial said he was told by the driver who was transporting the stolen animals on Friday that a butcher had made all of the payments to ensure the safe delivery of the cattle to his business place.
Matadial is calling on the administration to act swiftly and not allow corrupt officers to adversely affect the efforts of the administration. He has said that once anyone has played a part in the cattle rustling trade, that person is guilty of cattle rustling.
“These rustlers must be charged,” he says.
According to the Criminal Law (Offences) Act Chapter 8:01, an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to procedure with respect to indictable offences: Sections 176-178 provide for the larceny of goats, pigs, horses, cattle, and the killing of animals with intent to steal carcasses thereof.
According to Section l76 of the said act, everyone who steals any goat or kid, or any boar, sow, barrow, hog or pig , shall be guilty of a felony and be liable to imprisonment of three years; while Section l77 says anyone who steals any horse, mare, gelding, colt, or filly’ or any mule, or any ass, or any mull, cow, ox, steer, heifer or calf; or any ram, ewe, sheep, or lamb, shall be guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.
Matadial is suggesting that cattle rustlers be charged under section 177 of the Criminal Law offences Act. (Andrew Carmichael)