MANY women spend a lot of money on weaves and hair pieces to make sure they look beautiful.
But Durban women have started thinking twice before spending thousands on expensive wigs.
A trend has recently started where whoonga addicts in the Durban CBD snatch wigs off women’s heads to sell for drugs.
They mainly target women wearing wigs made out of hair from Brazil, Peru and Malaysia as these are very popular and can be sold quickly.
Nqo Khumalo (27) of Diamond Hair Salon on Pine Street said they were being bombarded by drug addicts selling these wigs for as little as R250.
“Our clients snap them up quickly because they know how expensive these wigs are. They go for the bargain, although they know the wigs have been snatched from other people’s heads,” she said.
Nqo said if you bought the wigs at their full price they cost about R3 000 or more, depending on the length.
She said the drug addicts had become very good at seeing the difference between a weave and a wig.
Nqo said although salons were worried about the trend, they had no power to stop it and were scared to confront the drug addicts.
Durban Central Police Station’s Captain Khephu Ndlovu confirmed that they had received a number of complaints from women who were robbed of their expensive wigs.
“We want to warn women about this latest type of crime. They must be careful when they walk on the streets of Durban. They must avoid streets where drug addicts are known to hang around,” he said.
He said amaphara (junkie) hot spots included the area around King Dinuzulu Park, Warwick Junction, Field Street and The Workshop Shopping Centre.
