Police have appealed for information following the theft of cattle near the Northern Irish border in Co. Armagh in recent days.

Issuing the appeal, local members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement:

“Police in Newtownhamilton, Co. Armagh, are appealing for information about the theft of cattle from the Ballynalack Road, Camlough.

“Any information please contact us on 101 and quote reference 660 9/5/19.”

Police received a report of missing cattle from a farm yesterday, Thursday, May 9, at 2:00pm, a PSNI spokesperson told AgriLand.

It has not been disclosed how many cattle are missing or what breed the animals are.

Irish cattle theft figures

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the Republic of Ireland recently gave an update to AgriLand on the number of cattle stolen in the south.

A spokesperson for the department noted that, as of April, the total number of cattle reported stolen in 2019 amounts to 26.

In 2018, a total of 347 cattle were reported stolen in the Republic of Ireland.

ATM arrests

Meanwhile, yesterday, Thursday, May 9, two men were arrested by PSNI detectives investigating a number of recent thefts of ATM machines in the Fermanagh and Tyrone areas.

Detective chief inspector Brian Foster said: “Today we conducted five searches in the Omagh area in relation to the theft of ATM machines in counties Fermanagh and Tyrone between December 2018 and March 2019.

During the operation we recovered a digger worth £60,000 which was stolen in the Dungannon area last Friday.

“We arrested two men, aged 29 and 31, on suspicion of theft of ATMs and machinery as well as other related offences.

“They remain in custody at present.”