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The operation, which is expected to run between 18 and 26 June, is meant to curb cases of stock theft in the country.
In an interview, police national anti-stock theft co-ordinator, Assistant Commissioner Bernard Dumbura, said police were targeting food outlets, abattoirs and butcheries as these provided ready markets for cattle rustlers.
“We have intensified the clampdown on food outlets, abattoirs and butcheries under Operation Nyamawaiwanepi/Inyamauyithethengapi. The operation will be carried out between 18 and 26 this month.
“We are raiding food outlets, abattoirs and butcheries. We will also be descending on lodges, hotels and supermarkets with the aim of establishing the source of the meat.
“The operation will help us recover meat that came from stock thieves and other dubious meat transactions,” he said.
Asst Comm Dumbura said police were also targeting food outlets and butcheries operating without licences, health certificates and those with meat whose origins they could not explain.
He said police noted that most cattle rustlers were middlemen used by butcheries and food outlets to source meat.
“Food outlets, butcheries and abattoirs provide ready markets for cattle rustlers. In some cases, businesspeople are directly involved in stock theft and provide the resources such as vehicles and cash,” he said.
Asst Comm Dumbura said police had also recorded a marginal decrease in the number of stock theft cases in the first half of 2012.
He said the number of stolen cattle recorded between January and April this year dropped to 3 381 from 3 516 recorded over the same period last year.
Asst Comm Dumbura said cases of stock theft were mostly rampant in Masvingo and Midlands provinces.
He said what was worrying was that some of the stolen cattle were being smuggled across national borders and this was especially so in Masvingo and Matabeleland provinces.
“This year we recovered nine cattle that had been smuggled into Botswana.
“We are also working with Mozambique to reduce cases of cattle smuggling through areas near Nyamapanda border post,” he said.
More than 1 250 people involved in stock theft and other related operations were arrested when police first launched Operation Nyamawaiwanepi/Inyamauyithethengapi in January last year.
One hundred and thirty-four of these were cattle rustlers.
About 400 cattle were recovered while 175 butcheries and 124 food outlets were closed following the clampdown.
Meanwhile, more than 140 000 cattle ranchers have been issued with brand certificates under the Government’s new system of fighting stocktheft. The cattle are being branded according to the codes of their districts.
The code records would then be kept at the Registrar General’s Office.
The system, which was launched in Zvimba District in March last year by Asst Comm Dumbura together with officials from both the Registrar General’s Office and Veterinary Services Department, has spread to all districts in the country.
Asst Comm Dumbura said the new system would make it difficult for stock thieves to smuggle cattle across borders.
Online Reporter