Jihadis linked to al-Qaida, Islamic State are stealing millions of dollars' worth of cattle to buy weapons and vehicles to fund their insurgency across and beyond Mali
but overcrowded prisons have led to a change in oklahoma s drug %-p longer a felony. so instead of serving time behind bars, these users will soon be back on the streets, leaving law enforcement with an endless cycle of drug activity and city saturated with meth. but in rural oklahoma, the problem is just as widespread, and users are turning to a state resource to fund their habit. oklahoma is home to some five million head of prime beef cattle. it s a multibillion industry and it s under attack. agriculturen 102, agriculture 105. 102, go ahead. chief jerry flowers is chief of a law enforcement unit investigating a rash of drug-related cattle thefts for the oklahoma department of agriculture. if he s got five stolen cattle
how old are you? 32. how long did you say you have been using meth? since i was about 18. wow. i hate dope, you know? have you been involved in many cattle thefts? no. i have never been involved in none of that until now. you were there when it happened? yeah. it wasn t like planned out or anything. i need a cigarette. [ crying ] let me see if i can get you a cigarette, okay? she wants a cigarette. it s a devastating scene. it could be days or weeks before this mother sees her child again. she faces up to ten years per head of cattle which means she could be looking at 40 years behind bars.
cattle thefts for the oklahoma department of agriculture. he has five stolen cattle in here. anything he has standing on that place we will look at. today he is checking on a case they have been investigating. two months ago four cows were stolen from this ranch. a family business run by three generations. good morning. good morning. hi. how are you? doing good. 82-year-old ralph is the patriarch. he has been in the cattle business since 1958. so you were raised on cattle? you raised your family on cattle. what have they meant to you all? since we were old enough to walk we have been coming out here helping feed on the weekends. when i was little my dad and grandpa. it is just part of life to us. he runs a calf/cow operation.
community, how easy it is to get and how it hurts people. how old are you? 32. how long did you say you have been using meth? since i was about 18. wow. i hate dope, you know? have you been involved in many cattle thefts? no. i have never been involved in none of that until now. you were there when it happened? yeah. it wasn t like planned out or anything. i need a cigarette. [ crying ] let me see if i can get you a cigarette, okay? she wants a cigarette. it s a devastating scene. it could be days or weeks before this mother sees her child again. she faces up to ten years per