Criminals allegedly posing as fellow participants reportedly stole cellphones from runners during the Absa Run Your City Joburg 10km race in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Thursday.
The race, held on September 24 as part of Heritage Day celebrations, was followed by social media reports from participants who claimed they had been targeted during the event.
According to SABC News, one runner said her bag was cut while she was running.
She could not identify exactly where along the route the incident occurred but said she was not the only participant affected.
Another runner reportedly said she was targeted at the start of the race, while some participants alleged that individuals may have entered the event pretending to be runners and used the crowd to steal from others.
SABC News reported, “What should have been a day of fitness and celebration turned into a nightmare after more than 100 runners in Johannesburg reportedly had their cellphones stolen during a race, allegedly by criminals posing as fellow participants.”
However, the Gauteng police said the number of victims remained unclear, noting that only one person had formally reported a theft following the race at the time of its response.
The South African Police Service said it was aware of a social media post in which a participant alleged that about 100 people had their cellphones stolen during the event.
Police said the circumstances surrounding the reported case were being investigated and that no arrests had been made.
SAPS urged anyone who believed they had been a victim to report the incident at the nearest police station to assist investigators in establishing the extent of the alleged thefts.
The police also cautioned the public against sharing unverified information, warning that doing so could create unnecessary alarm and confusion.
The Absa Run Your City Joburg 10km organisers had not publicly commented on the reports as of the time of the report.
