MASERU –— Beef consumers countrywide are at a high risk of buying contaminated meat after some cattle were stolen from South Africa last week and found their way onto the local market, police have warned.
Senior Inspector Masupha Masupha said 40 cattle which were stolen from a farm in Matatiele, a South African border town near Qacha’s Nek, have hit the Lesotho market.
He said they suspected some of the cattle could have been slaughtered and sold to unsuspecting consumers.
Masupha told a press conference on Monday that they suspected that some local butchery owners were buying cattle from thieves for slaughter.
In some cases the butcheries were unaware that the cattle were recently vaccinated with drugs that could be harmful to consumers.
Vaccinated cattle are not good for slaughter until after three months.
Masupha said thieves from Lesotho crossed the border to Matatiele last week and stole 67 cattle.
About 40 of them were believed to have been sold to local butcheries.
He said 27 of the cattle have since been recovered from across the country.
