SOUTH AFRICA: "Police" Or Robbers Attack Elderly Dutch Tourists And Steal Their Possessions

A group of elderly Dutch tourists, who were robbed in South Africa on Sunday by men posing as police, have returned home to the Netherlands.

The 36 tourists were attacked while travelling to their hotel from Johannesburg airport, where they had just landed for a three-week holiday.

Their bus was stopped by a fake police car, and at least one of the robbers was in police uniform.

Police have apologised for the incident and promised to find the attackers.

The robbers tied up the bus driver and tour guide, assaulted some of the tourists and stole many of their possessions.

Most of the passengers are 70-plus.

People panicked and even got firearms aimed at them. In two cases, the trigger was pulled but the gun didn't fire, one tourist as said.

One tourist was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries.

We are safe now, but we are in shock and the fun has gone, one of the passengers said.

The Dutch ambassador to South Africa, Marisa Gerards, said the group had decided to return to the Netherlands because most of them had had all of their belongings taken.

She said it had been out of safety concerns that the group had arranged the organised tour, rather than travel independently.

South Africa is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations because of its beauty, affordability and variety.

But it also has one of the highest crime levels in the world,a concern not just for visitors but for those living in South Africa.

Visitors from the region have sometimes fallen prey to muggings in a similar way to the Dutch tourists and, as a result, some African embassies warn their citizens to make sure they are not being followed when leaving the airport.

The authorities are worried that the latest mugging may damage South Africa's image.

Tourism is a critical sector and sustains many jobs.

Tourism Minister Tokozile Xasa said all South Africans should be concerned by threats to the industry.

South Africa's Police Minister, Fikile Mbalula, met the tourists on Tuesday and offered his heartfelt embarrassment over their experience.

He said he hoped they would return to South Africa in the future.

I condemn this robbery in the strongest terms and call for harsh punishment of those responsible, he said.

Tourism is one of our economic drivers and a provider of jobs for the youth. We must work hard to protect this industry, Mr Mbalula said.

It is not the first time robbers have targeted OR Tambo airport.

In March, armed thieves stole containers of cash from a restricted zone while dressed as police.



Tourism Observer

PERU: Tourists Came To Help Flood Victims End Up Robbed In El Mana Hotel

I magine that you´re on a holiday in a country that is struck by natural disasters and you´re offering voluntarily your help to help those affected.

This is what members of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) All Hands from the United Kingdom, Australia, Colombia and the United States did.

They got to Huarmey to work on the registration of families who have lost their homes in order to support them with reconstruction materials, however, the foreign tourists turned into victims themselves as they were brutally assaulted in their hotel by five armed criminals with their faces covered with ski masks.

The thugs arrived at the El Maná hotel, located at kilometer nr. 1 of the Huarmey-Aija-Recuay road, and, after threating the hotel personnel, the crooks entered the rooms of the 16 visitors and gathered passports, cell phones, laptops, cameras, as well as 6,000 Soles and 250 dollars in cash.

After the assault, the criminals fled, while the tourists reported what happened to Miguel Angel Sotelo Llacas, the mayor of Huarmey.

The mayor immediately contacted the police to start a search for the thieves.

Luckily, thanks to a GPS application on one of the smartphones that was stolen, the police managed to locate 15 other cell phones, 6 laptops and 2 of the three stolen cameras in the house located in the human settlement Los Arabes.

This is where Jair Enzo Imán Quispe (25) was captured, who was taken to the police headquarters of Huarmey for interrogation.

The police reported continuing to search for other assailants in order to recover victims’ money and passports.