Batswana drugged on Durban buses

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Wednesday January 13, 2010 00:00

Mmegi has learnt that some people from this country have been drugged in the Durban bound buses after their drinks were spiked.  They would later be robbed of cash and other valuables.  The car buyers prefer to carry United States Dollars because the Durban cars are charged in that currency.  Other travellers use travellers' cheques.

The drugging incidences occur in the buses on the way from Johannesburg en-route to Durban. The people who are traveling to Durban by public transport, board buses up to Johannesburg where they connect with the coaches that take them to Durban.  A man who is involved in the car business, said the coaches depart from Johannesburg at 10.00 pm and travel to Durban overnight.  He said he has witnessed an incident where a fellow traveller was drugged.  He suspects that the spiking was done by the bus crew. He added that the man who was comatose had been served tea by the bus crew. But they were shocked when suddenly the passenger slumped into a deep sleep and nobody could wake him up.

The car dealer said the drugging incidences only occur on the coaches that are owned by Asian businessmen. He said it seems as if the bus crew does not target everyone. He noted that they could also have been monitoring how the passenger had been behaving. 

He added that when you are tipsy you can also become vulnerable to the robbery attacks. A Gaborone lawyer, who preferred anonymity, said he had also witnessed a drugging incident on the Durban bound coaches.  

He spoke about an incident in which their fellow traveller was also drugged.  He said earlier on, the man had been drinking whisky with a stranger that he befriended on the bus.  But later the passenger from Botswana, passed out.

He was robbed of all his valuables as well as the cash that was supposed to be used for buying the car.  The lawyer said the Batswana travellers were forced to contribute cash to take the man to a hospital in Durban for the drug treatment. A Botswana Police spokesperson, Dipheko Motube said the matter has not been brought to their attention.