Muggers targeting female pedestrians
Three muggings have been reported in the past week alone.
POLICE have warned pedestrians, particularly women, to walk in groups whenever possible and to stick to well-lit and well-populated areas. This comes after a spike in muggings in Durban North and uMhlanga. In the past week alone, there have been three incidents and since May last year, Northglen News has reported on more than 30 muggings, some of which were armed. In 80 per cent of the cases, the victims were women.
Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North SAPS, said in the last three incidents, valuables worth R34 000 were stolen by men targeting pedestrians.
“In the latest incident, a woman walking on Umhlanga Rocks Drive was accosted by a man who snatched her laptop bag and ran off in the direction of the taxi rank. Five days before that, a woman walking on Palm Boulevard was robbed by two men. One of the suspects snatched the lady’s phone, while the other snatched her handbag, and they ran off in different directions,” he said.
This year, cyclists along the Ellis Brown Viaduct were also the target of men armed with pangas with more than eight cases being reported.
In the most serious armed mugging, an 80-year-old was held down, bitten and robbed by four men in May last year.
