A woman in South Africa has been stealing money from senior citizens who were also casino patrons, with one case pinning Hannah Naidoo, herself 74 years of age, as the party responsible for a $19,000 theft.
Woman Targets Trusting Casino Patrons, Risks Their Lives to Steal Jewelry, Money
Naidoo was convicted of aggravated robbery in March 2025 and is said to have befriended and laced a milkshake with drugs to steal from the 92-year-old patron. She secured various items of jewelry at the aforementioned cost.
Worse still, the victim was found unconscious in her apartment only two days after the attack took place and had to be admitted to the hospital and rushed to an ICU before she recovered.
Naidoo has some reason to be relieved, as she was acquitted on the attempted murder charge, but she had been doing this for many years, possibly all the way back to 1981, when she first caught the eye of law enforcement, and she will spend a lengthy time behind bars to pay for her crimes.
In May 2025, Naidoo is said to have spiked another patron’s drink, a 66-year-old, in which case she was able to steal $1,100 from the victim. Once again, the victim suffered health issues because of the drugs she had ingested.
Sentence Fit for the Crime
Naiboo’s victims, though, have grown bolder seeing the case publicized, and most are now stepping forward to report the incidents. At least one other person has been able to identify Naiboo as her attacker, a 67-year-old woman. In her case, Naiboo also stole jewelry worth about $3,500.
Naiboo continued to plead her innocence in court and denied the allegations and argued that she had never done any of the deeds. She also tried to dupe the court because she was suffering from stage 4 cancer, and she posed no threat to the public.
These arguments were turned down by the courts, with Judge Ashwin Singh sentencing the culprit to 10 years behind bars.