Dog theft syndicate in North Coast

Reaction Unit South Africa has attended to 27 cases of theft/lost dogs in the past month. Reaction Officers have recovered several of these stolen pets & believe that a syndicate is operating on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.

Most of these cases that were reported to the RUSA Operations Center were from the Verulam, Tongaat, Ballito & Phoenix area. In most cases the suspects approach the home, hop over the boundary wall or gate, grabbed the dogs an flee the area. Several different types of vehicles have been captured on cctv camera fleeing these homes.

Some of the animals that were recovered by RUSA Officers had suffered injuries & could have been used in dog fights. Several dogs were found in possession of drug dealers who had purchased them from drug users.

Dog thieves don’t seem to favor any particular breed. Stolen dogs reported to RUSA have ranged from Maltese Poodles, Jack Russels, German Shepards to cross breeds.

In most cases the dogs were never recovered.