World Cup robberies continue as Greek team fleeced
June 11, 2010 - 10:04AM

Thieves stole large amounts of cash from Greece's World Cup hotel base in South Africa, police and a team spokesman said on Thursday.

Although the team has declined to press charges the team spokesman confirmed that around 1500 euro in cash had been taken from players' rooms at the hotel in Umhlanga, north of Durban.

A police spokesman said that the theft had taken place two days ago and that officers had tried to persuade the team to file a formal report so that they could launch an investigation.

"They refused to open a case but we have sent a high-level delegation of detectives to interview them and try to pursue an investigation," Colonel Vish Naidoo told the SAPA news agency.

News of the theft comes on the eve of the tournament and a fortnight after the Colombian team, which was not one of the World Cup qualifiers, also had a similar amount of cash stolen while staying in a hotel in Johannesburg.

South Africa has hired tens of thousands of extra police for the tournament in a bid to counter its reputation as one of the world's most crime-ridden countries.

But they have been unable to prevent a series of robberies against World Cup visitors, with journalists from China, Portugal and Spain all falling victim to robberies.

AFP
http://www.smh.com.au/world-cup-2010/world-cup-news/world-cup-robberies-continue-as-greek-team-fleeced-20100611-y1d3.html