Groups of black female thieves are prowling Lockhart Road, Hong Kong’s lively red-light strip, looking for expatriate men to rob, the South China Morning Post reports.

The area’s streets are particularly busy this week, thronged with fans from all over the world attending the city’s famous Rugby Sevens tournament. A party atmosphere prevails and binge drinking is the norm during “Sevens week.”

The women, hailing from an unspecified African country, are described as “powerfully built” and standing about 1.8 m tall. They pretend to be customers at bars, where they strike up conversations with their victims. They then flirt or offer sex, get the men drunk and subsequently mug them either on the street or in their hotel rooms.

One unfortunate man was thrown into a trash can by the women when he started struggling after realizing he was getting mugged. Another man, an Australian, had about $1,300 stolen when he took three African women to his hotel room after getting drunk with them in a bar.

The police say many cases are going unreported because the victims are ashamed or because they are only in the city for a few days. Rugby Sevens visitors have been warned to be on their guard.

[South China Morning Post]

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