Don’t take cold drinks from strangers warns police
Incidents of drugging and robbing people of money is on the rise in Port Shepstone CBD.
Port Shepstone Saps warns the public not to accept cold drinks from strangers while waiting in queues in the Port Shepstone CBD.
Police have received a number of reports from people who have been robbed after they had been offered cooldrinks believed to be spiked. Their valuables are taken and the victims are dumped in secluded areas.
In a recent incident in the Port Shepstone CBD, a Gamalakhe father went missing after an unknown man approached him, to speak to his boss in English over the phone as he needed him to translate.
According to bystanders the father left with the man and that was the last time he was seen.
The family sought information about their father’s whereabouts on social media. Three days later they reported that their father had been found in bushes near Paddock, after criminals had robbed him of his belongings and dumped him.
A family member said their father seems to be suffering from memory loss from a drug given to him by the criminals. However, he is now safe and slowly regaining his memory.
In a separate incident last week, a pensioner walked from his home near Port Shepstone beach to town, to withdraw cash. On his way, he met a man who told him that he had a premonition that a family member was planning to kill him for his money.
According to a family member, the pensioner believed the man as an altercation had occurred at a family meeting.
The criminal convinced the pensioner to withdraw more money, and later robbed him of his bank card.
The pensioner was later found unconscious by sex workers near the beach. Transactions on his account were traced and showed the culprit had used his card to make purchases and withdrawals at different shops.
Ugu District police spokesperson Captain Petros Mpinge said that criminals have devised other ways to rob unsuspecting people in the CBD. One method is to offer them a cooldrink which causes them to pass out.
“Be aware of your surrounding at all times and do not accept any help from strangers. I recommended that older persons be accompanied by a reliable family member if they need to go to town. Don’t wear jewellery and conceal cellphones. If carrying a handbag, wear it across your chest, “said Mpinge.
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