Bull semen worth $100,000 is part of a haul of allegedly stolen wagyu cattle uncovered by police in regional Australia.
A 34-year-old man from Grafton, in northern New South Wales, faces 20 charges including cattle theft and obtaining financial advantage after allegedly stealing more than 100 cattle from his employer.
A vet allegedly contacted by the 34-year-old also faces animal cruelty charges for failing to provide treatment to some of his cattle.
The cattleman was asked by his boss to sell 200 cattle, but is accused of arranging to sell 114 of the animals, including 45 valuable full-blood wagyu cows, to himself in January 2024.
Police alleged the sale led to a discount of almost $100,000 after the man bought the herd through a third party at a greatly reduced price.
Detective chief inspector Cameron Whiteside, from NSW police’s rural crime prevention team, said a rural crime police unit, codenamed Strike Force Newbury, had been investigating the alleged fraud for more than a year.
He said police “conservatively” estimated the value of each cow at about $3,000.
A search warrant allegedly uncovered a liquid nitrogen storage tank containing the bull semen.
Whiteside said the semen was worth about $100,000, due to the value of wagyu beef.
“We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. But that’s just on face value,” he said. “Then you’ve got to look at the future benefit, or the breeding capabilities of that stock also.”
Embryos for breeding were also part of the alleged haul.
After searching the 34-year-old’s property, police allegedly told him to seek treatment from a veterinarian for six wagyu bulls.
Police said the vet produced false documents that said he had treated the cattle without doing so and two of the bulls later died.
The vet has been charged with committing an aggravated act of animal cruelty and failing to provide vet treatment.
He was granted bail to appear at Grafton local court on 11 August.
Whiteside said there were several moving parts to a complex investigation, which required the assistance of five horse-mounted police to execute warrants and specialist rural crime police from across the state. Aside from two primary investigators, officers from New England, Dubbo and southern NSW also assisted.
Whiteside described the alleged offending as “quite complex”.
The 34-year-old is charged with 20 offences including cattle theft, animal cruelty and obtaining financial advantage by deception.
He was also granted bail to appear at Grafton local court on 4 August.
