A MAN described as handsome, smooth, sweet-talking and smartly dressed claiming to be a truck driver, swept women off their feet at Runde Business Centre in Mwenezi, Masvingo province, before drugging and robbing them of their cash.
The intimate, drugging, ransacking and theft escapades reportedly occurred in one night with three different women waking up to recount similar incidents the following morning.
The women shared different, but similar tales about having a jolly good time, a deep slumber and waking up to a home ransacked by the sweet-talking lover.
“He gave me US$50, we had drinks, food and he was all a woman needs in a man. We shared pleasant moments and we went home,” recalled one of the women in an interview with NewsDay.
“We had a nice time then I just went blank, slept until the next morning and I was alone with all my money, R3 000 gone.”
She said she took the “sweet talker” home at around 1am after closing her vending stall where she sells water, cold drinks and airtime to travellers and truckers who stop over at Runde Business Centre, 100 kilometres South of Masvingo.
As the woman was relating her story, a resident remarked that another victim had lost US$1 000 to a man matching the same descriptions.
“He even asked me to photograph him with his phone while standing in front of the truck he drives. He never invited me to sit inside, but said he would pay me US$50 which he indeed gave me. After a while we went to my place and the rest is history,” the second victim said.
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She said she woke up the next morning suffering from a severe headache, while her clothes were scattered on the floor. The man had vanished with all her money, including the US$50 he baited her with.
The truck the man claimed to be driving was still parked at the shopping centre.
“He must have drugged me with something because I fell into a deep sleep. I still feel dizzy and when I get into my room, I felt sleepy even three days after the incident,” the second victim said.
While details of the third victim were not readily available, a woman who escaped the trap said she dismissed the man before he could take advantage of her.
“He told me he loved me and I just said if he is serious I would see him the next time he came advising him not to rush me. But he bought a lot of airtime from me, each time using a new note,” she said.
“He must have been trying to check how much I had with me because despite giving him some change, he would buy airtime with a new large note,” she said.
The woman said she told the man that he was exhausting her change before he laughed the statement off.
“Something in me said ‘No’ and I turned him down after he offered me US$50. I told him I was busy and could not entertain him. But I really wanted him,” the woman confessed.
She said she felt very lucky hearing her friends relate their experiences with the swindler. They tried calling the number he had given them, but it was no longer reachable.
All the victims were yet to report to the police about their losses to the smooth talker.
