Police say Dundee taxi rumours spreading on Facebook are unfounded
A warning that young girls in Dundee are regularly being drugged and assaulted by a fake taxi driver has been branded a well-intentioned false alarm.
- By Maura Bowman
- Published in the Courier : 18.11.11
- Published online : 18.11.11 @ 08.05am
The horror story is being circulated in good faith by the city's Facebook users but Tayside Police say no crimes matching the details of the tale are being investigated.
The posting alleges young women are being drugged, picked up by a fake taxi driver and driven around ''for hours on end'' before being sexually assaulted.
According to the warning the attacker rifles through the girls' bags, takes their money and then phones their parents, demanding payment of a £25 ''fare''.
Police said they had looked into an alleged incident last month but it had not resulted in a formal investigation.
''Tayside Police can confirm that they received a report of an alleged incident on October 2 2011, certain enquiries were undertaken, no formal complaint was made and no further police action was taken on this occasion,'' said a spokeswoman.
''Tayside Police has received no intelligence that suggests that an individual is carrying out numerous crimes of this type but, clearly, if anyone has information or concerns they should contact Tayside Police on 0300 111 2222.''
The Facebook warning ends by advising girls to look out for their friends and only to use recognised taxi firms.
Police agreed that, even if there is no direct evidence of a spate of attacks in the city, it is important for young women to take steps to protect themselves.
''Drink-spiking is when someone puts harmful drugs into your drink when you are not looking and without you knowing about it,'' added the spokeswoman.
''Often the drugs used are similar to tranquillisers and they can make you feel dizzy, confused and sometimes lead to unconsciousness.
''Sometimes people also have no memory of what happened. The drugs commonly used are rohypnol, GHB and ketamine.''
Photo © Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
06.58pm - 18.11.2011 CS - Dundee, Scotland Report This
If this sare-mongering is happening on Facebook, why have`nt those pages been taken down? I am not a facebook user and never will be. When it comes to teaching women not to be victims of crime, heard it all before. Better to just tell rapists to stop being rapists.
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