Three individuals have been apprehended for their involvement in an alleged cattle theft operation, where 306 cattle valued at $250,000 were unlawfully taken in October 2022. The suspects are accused of orchestrating an unauthorized muster of cattle from Louisa Downs in Western Australia to the Northern Territory, without seeking any permissions for the process. The operation involved setting up a camp on Louisa Downs Pastoral Aboriginal Corporation station, using earth-moving machinery to create a road to a neighboring station, and erecting portable cattle yards for mustering.
The stolen cattle from Mount Pierre Station were reportedly mustered using helicopters and ground crews between October 12 and October 24, 2022, and then transported to a different location to be tagged as originating from Louisa Downs. Following an extraterritorial search warrant execution by the Northern Territory Police at a property on the Adelaide River, it was discovered that some of the stolen cattle had been sold and exported. The accused individuals allegedly received proceeds from these sales, deposited into their accounts over a period of several months.
As a result, a 42-year-old man from the Northern Territory and two others aged 41 and 39 from Fitzroy Crossing have been charged with stealing. Legal proceedings are set to take place, with the 42-year-old man scheduled to appear before the Fitzroy Crossing Magistrates Court on July 9, and the other two due to appear on May 14.