Botswana: Criminal Gangs Target Foreigners

No Comments | August 4th, 2010 | Trackback

The U.S. Embassy in Gaborone released a message stating that criminal gangs have been targeting individuals they perceive to be easy targets, with several serious incidents against foreigners within a week. The incidents include the stabbing of an expat during an attempted laptop robbery near Kgale Hill; the armed robbery of a group of diplomats near Gaborone Dam; the violent beating of a diplomat in an attempted handbag robbery outside her residence; the attempted theft of a cell phone from a U.S. tourist that was thwarted by Batswana shoppers who beat the thief. Kgale Hill and Gaborone Dam are known high-crime areas where visitors need to remain vigilant, and the Embassy recommends anyone traveling to these areas do so only in very large groups with many large, strong individuals, because criminals hide in the bush and attack people they think they can overpower.