Criminals luring residents to death-trap a hoax: Bahrain Ministry

Manama : Claims that criminals and rapists are employing children to lure gullible residents to death-trap are a hoax, the authorities informed yesterday.

Rumours are rife that an underworld gang is instructing children to appear lost and ask for help. When the victims oblige, the children direct them to a premise where their homes are purportedly located. When victims reach the spot the masterminds trap them and are either killed or are raped. 

A voice message is circulating online purportedly issued by the Ministry of Interior as a warning to the public. However, Bahraini authorities have denied such rumours. A spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior said that no such circular was issued by the Ministry. No such incidents were also reported in Bahrain. 

In the audio message, the woman talks about how she received a notice in Arabic, which she assumed is from the Ministry of Interior. The translated message upon the request of some of her friends is as follows. “It is an urgent notice from the Ministry of Interior and all the police stations in Bahrain to all citizens of Bahrain. If you see any children on the road as a lost, holding their address and asking to take them in your personal car to their home which is the address mentioned in the paper they have, please do not do so because those children are part of a setup. The place where you have been asked to take them will be a trap. At the location there will be people waiting for you, you can get killed, your organs can be stolen or you can be raped. Police are asking people not to go anywhere with those children. Or you can take the children to the police station. I think this is a new scam we have here in Bahrain,” the woman said in the audio message. 

DT News learnt that the origin of the hoax dates back to 2005, it is not clear which country it originated but similar messages have been doing the rounds in different countries.  Each time the hoax message is targeted to a country, the message names the police authority of the country that it is targeting as the author of the circular. Last month, a post claiming that South African police issued a public circular with a similar warning. However, South African police confirmed the message as a hoax.