Two men will appear in the Queenstown District Court next month on joint charges in relation to alleged stock thefts from a rural property at Mt Barker, near Wanaka.
A 27-year-old Wanaka man and a 36-year-old former Wanaka man, now living in Motueka, will appear in the Queenstown District Court on Monday January 30.
The joint charges relate to the theft of deer, sheep and other farming-related property.
Detective Dave Evans, of Wanaka, said it appeared the alleged thefts had occurred over a period of about two and a-half years from May 2009 until August 2011.
Police had begun investigating the alleged thefts in September this year, after a local farmer raised concerns with police. The number of deer involved is alleged to be in excess of 600 and the number of sheep about 120.
Det Evans said the charges related to only one farm near Wanaka, although some of the animals alleged to have been stolen belonged to two neighbouring farmers.
At this time the investigation showed no link between the two men and other alleged stock thefts in Central Otago or further afield, Det Evans said.
