POLICE have seized 21 suspected stolen sheep from an Old Junee property as they expand a major livestock theft investigation sparked by the stealing of 170 lambs worth a total of $28,560.
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A search warrant was executed on the property early Tuesday morning.
Eight police, including five members of the NSW Police Rural Crime Investigation Unit from Wagga, Cootamundra and Griffith, Wagga police crime manager Detective Inspector Darren Cloake and Junee police sector commander Sergeant Bernie Nix descended on the property for the operation.
About 300 Merino, Border Leicester and cross-bred sheep aged between 12 and 18 months were drafted into a cattle yard by police for inspection.
Sheep that police believe may have been stolen because their compulsory ear tags were missing or their ear markings appeared to have been altered were marked with green paint, separated from the rest of the mob and then taken off the property for further examination.
Detective Senior Constable Scott Blanchard of the Wagga Rural Crime Investigation Unit said the search warrant was sought following the arrest of two Junee men, aged 22 and 23, over the theft of 170 cross-bred lambs from a Junee property on July 4.
The theft was reported to Junee police on July 5.
Each of the lambs was valued at $168.
An investigation led to the arrest of the men and the recovery of 165 lambs, police said.
The men have each been charged with one count of stealing cattle and one count of removing authorised permanent identifiers (ear tags).
If convicted of removing tags, the men face thousands of dollars in potential fines under the Stock Diseases Act.
The pair will face Junee Local Court on September 4.
"As a result of information received, we were able to identify the stolen sheep through registered ear marks, and as a result of that we were able to recover 165 of them," Senior Constable Blanchard said.
The probe into that alleged theft led police to execute the search warrant on Tuesday looking for evidence of any further stock theft or offences under the Stock Diseases Act.
"We are seeing inconsistencies with what the ear tags indicate and what the ear markings indicate," Senior Constable Blanchard said as sheep were being inspected in a race.
He said further inquiries would be made about ownership of the suspect sheep.
Senior Constable Blanchard said 790 sheep had been reported stolen so far this year in the Junee-Temora district, a number which he said was "pretty consistent" with previous years.
"Basically, Temora through to Junee is our hot spot for sheep theft at the moment," he said.