Drugged and robbed: None of 200 cases since May solved

Former city police chief initiated a crackdown, but to no avail.

LAHORE:

After 162 people ended up in hospitals and were deprived of their cash and valuables in May, 38 cases have already been reported in June so far. According to the police, the cases of giving people drugged food to rob them are increasing, but not a single criminal has been arrested for the crime.

An official at the Lorry Adda police station told The Express Tribune that every week at least a dozen such cases were reported to the police.

He said the number represented just a fraction of the people who were drugged and robbed by unidentified people as most of the people did not report the matter to the police. “Most people think police will ask for money to help them and that the investigation will be dragged on,” he said.

He said that swindlers offered people something to eat or drink after engaging them in a conversation. They generally use drugged sweets, drinks, tea and biscuits, he added. He said that such incidents were commonly reported from bus stands. He said that the criminals used various ruses to persuade people to eat their offerings. Sometimes they pretend to be distributing sweets to celebrate some good news or fulfil a vow made at a shrine, sometimes it’s a for a lost bet. Then they wait for their victims to faint and deprive them of their cash and valuables.  He said these people often work in groups.

Muhammad Amin, one of the victims of these swindlers, told The Express Tribune that he was given drugged biscuits on his way to Lahore from Rawalpindi.

He said that he had started a conversation with a fellow passenger beside him, who offered him the biscuits. “He seemed harmless. I never speculated his intentions and accepted his offer,” he said.

He said he was later woken up by the bus conductor. “I was still under the influence of the drug and felt drowsy. I got up to get my luggage but everything was gone.” He said the swindler had also taken away his wallet and his mobile phone from his pocket. He then fell sick and recovered in about three days.

Aslam Shakeel was drugged and robbed at Lorry Adda. He told The Tribune that he had shared sweets with a fellow passenger from Faisalabad, after which he fainted. He said he later woke up on roadside near a bus stand, while his luggage, cash and mobile phone were all missing.

He said he had contacted the Lorry Adda police station, but the clerk refused to entertain his complaint saying that he had made up the story.

Dr Salman Kazmi of Mayo Hospital told The Tribune that swindlers generally used morphine, marijuana and chloroform. An overdose, he said, can be fatal.

Former capital city police officer Aslam Tareen had ordered a crackdown on the criminals. Patrolling at Lorry Adda was increased and suspicious people were frisked. However, there were no arrests and the crime goes on.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2011.