15 Feb 2021

A Botswana Police Service’s special task team dubbed Operation Restore (OR) notes some ‘significant progress’ in suppressing frequency at which cross-border stock theft incidents occur.

A progress report from the head of the team senior superintendent Musa Oteng noted that ‘this noble development’ has reduced the number of livestock stolen since deployment of the team in the Mabolwe, Motlhabaneng, Semolale and Gobojango (MAMOSEGO) area.

The special task team  was setup by office of commissioner of police following swelling incidents of cross border crime in the Bobirwa Sub Dirtrict. 

Tasked with inter alia, identifying and conducting surveillance on stock theft hot spot areas, identifying stock theft syndicates and arresting stock theft criminals and bringing them before courts. 

The operation reports making successful livestock interceptions and recoveries. The intercepted and recovered livestock being donkeys, cattle, goats and sheep had been handed over to their legal owners, the report highlights. 

Comparatively, a report from June to December 2019 (when OR was yet to be deployed) shows a total of 554 livestock reported stolen with only 50 cattle recovered and 504 not recovered. The 554 animals included 427 cattle, 20 donkeys, 107 goats. 

For the same period in 2020, after Operation Restore was deployed at MAMOSEGO area, there were only 170 livestock reported stolen, according to the report. The report highlights that the data was recorded by Semolale Police station.

The report indicates that with OR on the ground 201 livestock were recovered from foreign syndicates while 195 were recovered from local syndicates. 

Further, the report showed that 170 livestock were not recovered from foreign syndicates. 

“The total of 201 livestock was recovered from the foreign livestock smugglers. Comparatively, a reduction of 334 has been achieved,” an OR report emphasises. 

The report attributes its successes on interceptions to established good working relationships between the team and other law enforcement teams as Botswana Defence Force, Special Support Group, village leadership, farmers and the community.

On November 17, 2020 the team nabbed two Zimbabwean men who were part of a three men foreign livestock smuggling syndicate following information from reliable sources. 

The two were then arrested, while one evaded, and charged with two counts of entering Botswana during state of emergency and stealing stock. They were tried and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Ends