JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Egypt’s players returned from their shock Confederations Cup win over world champions Italy to find some of their hotel rooms had been burgled, South African police said yesterday.
“The SAPS can confirm that at about 1am (2300 GMT) this morning, Friday 19 June 2009, members of the Egyptian team reported that their wallets containing cash were missing from their hotel rooms,” police spokeswoman Sally de Beer said in a statement.
“Five members of the team were affected. It must be stressed that they were not present in the hotel rooms at the time of the incident.
“The South African Police Service will take all measures possible, including liaising and cooperating with other role players, to prevent a recurrence of an incident of this nature.”
The Egyptian team were staying at the Protea Hotel Wanderers in Johannesburg and in a statement, the company said: “Protea Hotels has strict security measures in place where electronic access control of the rooms and safes are monitored.
“We are working very closely with the local law enforcement bodies to get to the bottom of this unfortunate incident.”
South Africa’s high crime rate is one of the main challenges facing organisers of the 2010 World Cup, with the Confederations Cup seen as a dress rehearsal the event.
