ATLANTA — In a multi-agency and interstate operation, the Georgia Department of Agriculture helped solve a complicated horse theft case.
The GDA announced the news Monday. Commissioner Tyler Harper said his department assisted the Arkansas Department of Agriculture in identifying and capturing suspects from Georgia in what they say was a scheme to steal horses.
“Our Department’s Law Enforcement Team is committed to supporting other law enforcement agencies here in Georgia and across state lines to help ensure those who commit crimes involving agriculture are brought to justice,” said Harper. “This case required close cooperation, resources, and expertise from both agencies, and we are proud to have played a role in solving this case and providing closure for the victims.”
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In recent months, agriculture officials said the scheme uncovered by Arkansas had “extended to Georgia.”
Stretching across the country from Arkansas to Georgia, the suspects in question are accused of using fake financial transactions and false representation to illegally buy multiple horses, “resulting in significant monetary loss to the victims.”
Officers from both Georgia and Arkansas spent “many hours” identifying and interviewing witnesses, plus investigating transactions, transportation records and sale records of the stolen horses, which officials said happened in a yet-unidentified third state.
None of the suspects have been identified by Georgia officials, nor were details about how long the “theft by deception scheme” had been going on, or how many horses were stolen, made immediately available.
Every year, Georgia officials said about 40,000 horses are stolen, and multiple cases had been reported across the southeastern United States in Florida, Mississippi and Texas.
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