Ugandan men warned of 'booby trap' after chloroform attacks

Ugandan men have been warned by police of a "booby trap" after several were knocked out by chloroform smeared on women's chests by criminal gangs.

Victims of the attacks have been discovered by police officers naked with all their possessions having been stolen by the gang, who use the women to lure their prey and rob them when they fall unconscious after intimate activity.

Fred Enanga, a spokesman for the country's Criminal Investigations Directorate, called on all men, and particularly travelling businessmen who tend to carry more cash than locals, to take caution. He said: "It's a serious situation and people have to be aware."

Mr Enanga said: "They apply this chemical to their chest. We have found victims in an unconscious state. You find the person stripped totally naked and everything is taken from him. And the victim doesn't remember anything. He just remembers being in the act of romancing."

Mr Enanga said that early investigations had indicated that the gang may comprise dozens of members. He added that the source of the chemical sedatives remains unknown.

"We don't know exactly how they get these materials," he added. "That is something that our investigations must crack."