A herd of 14 prized cows was stolen from farmer Sion Hughes in Llannerch-y-medd, Anglesey, north Wales, on December 10, 2022. The stolen cows were worth around £20,000, and Hughes believes the criminals were 'tipped off' because most farmers in the area were away in Ireland on a stag do that night. Hughes did not join the stag do and was working a night shift on the rail network. The next morning, his partner found cows out on the road, the shed gates open, and 14 cows missing. One cow left behind in the shed had facial injuries, which Hughes said must have been caused when thieves tried to load her onto a lorry.
Police tracked the thieves using CCTV footage showing a distinctive truck at the cattle shed after 11pm on December 10, 2022. The truck was captured driving away from the shed about half an hour later. Authorities used automatic number plate recognition cameras to track the Toyota truck to the Stoke-on-Trent area, over 120 miles from the farm. A witness appeal led to the lorry being identified, having been seen on a farm a week earlier and near land where one of the criminals, Liam Kettleborough, farms.
Sion Hughes and his partner Eifion Ellis identified all 14 stolen cows from a group of over 100 cows in a field, despite the thieves cutting off the ear tags. Police matched calves born after the theft from pregnant stolen cattle with bulls owned by Sion Hughes, confirming the identification. The specific charges or legal outcomes for the thieves in this case have not been disclosed.
In a parallel case, sheriffs' deputies in central Texas arrested five men in connection with an organized livestock theft from a ranch linked to Florence and Schwertner, north of Austin. The men arrested are Ramon Martinez Miranda, 50; Miguel Martinez Mons, 58; Orleydis Martin Reyes, 42; Yasmani Galis-Hernandez, 34; and Reidel Martinez, 41. As of last week, all five were being held in Williamson County Jail. The theft in Texas allegedly caused the deaths of 70 animals.
Law enforcement in Texas became suspicious of cattle theft three months ago when a Florence Police officer stopped a pickup truck towing a livestock trailer. Officers found three dead cattle inside the trailer, with evidence they had been recently killed. Reidel Martinez, driving the truck, allegedly told police he purchased the cattle in Temple, Texas, for $800 each. The dead cattle were allegedly stolen from Capitol Land & Livestock in Schwertner.
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office collected physical evidence, witness statements, digital forensic analysis, and cell phone location data indicating the suspects were involved in an organized scheme. Investigators determined the five men had allegedly stolen and slaughtered approximately 70 head of cattle over several months. During the investigation, authorities found multiple places where pasture fencing had been cut, suggesting livestock had been illegally removed.
Jim Schwertner, owner of the stolen cattle in Texas, became suspicious when he noticed his cattle counts were off. The cattle lost in Texas were worth approximately $2,000 per head.