Smugglers' ears, hands cut off
2003-09-30 18:59
Johannesburg - Two suspected dagga smugglers who had their hands and ears cut off by people in rural KwaZulu-Natal, were recovering in a hospital in Pietermaritzburg, police said on Tuesday.
Superintendent Ilse Claassen said the two men, presumably from Lesotho, would however spend a long time in hospital.
"They are in a very poor condition," she said.
The men, Teleng Mohlakoane and Khotso Mohlakoane, as well as a friend, were carrying a large quantity of dagga about ten days ago when villagers in the Himeville area in the southern Drakensberg attacked them.
The friend was allegedly shot dead, while the hands and ears of the other two were cut off.
The two severely injured men afterwards walked for several kilometres to a nature reserve to get help. An ambulance was called and they were taken to the Edendale hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
Claassen said police had not yet recovered the body of the man who was allegedly killed, nor had they found the other two's severed limbs.
No one has been arrested in connection with the incident.
- SAPA