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@Kaphrayra

The rate of 'Hair Crime' has risen in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has become a common occurrence for people and more especially those donning dreadlocks to be accosted in broad day light, late at night or even drugged just to lose nothing but their hair.

The latest case is of a young Zimbabwean man who was mugged by three men who wanted nothing more than his mobile phone and 3 year-old dreadlocks whilst walking home late at night in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Speaking to BBC, the victim Jack Maseko,28, said that he still felt pain thinking about the events surrounding the night that the three men held him at knife-point and sheared his hair off with a pair of scissors.

This comes barely a month after another Zimbabwean on holiday in Johannesburg lost his 10 year-locks under mysterious circumstances after a night out in a club. (Read About It Here).

According to reports, these thieves have become so notorious they will use all manner of ways to steal locks . Even the day-lit streets are not safe anymore as one may 'cut-and-run' with  your  hair. Worse still, it has gotten so dangerous that they will cut hair with just anything they lay their hands on from a shard of broken glass to knives to execute the crime.

The thieves are said to operate in Johannesburg though the trend has also picked up in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

According to sources, for Ksh.1, 800 – K. sh 6,880 ($20 - $80) you can get shoulder length dreadlocks and people will pay up to K.sh 25,800 ($300) for longer.

The stolen hair is joined to natural, relaxed or even straight Western hair using a thin needle in a method called Crocheting by the stylist, giving the customer instant dreadlocks.

The demand for this new technique is very high and stylists are not stocked with natural locks to handle  the demand thus creating a ready market for the hair thieves in the quest to thrive in business.

Word of advice: if you plan to visit the mentioned parts of South Africa, be cautious of your dreadlocks. They could land you in trouble.