Woman, 80, drugs, robs, senior suitors

POLISH authorities have arrested an 80-year-old woman who allegedly drugged and then robbed a string of senior citizen suitors she met through newspaper lonely hearts adverts.

During dinner, the predatory pensioner sprinkled lorazepam – a drug prescribed to treat anxiety but which induces sleep – onto her victims’ food, a regional court in Brzesko, southern Poland, heard.

In one case, she had stolen 8 000 zloty (R28 000) in jewellery, electronics and cash from a 78-year-old who had invited her to his home in the nearby village of Szczurow, the online edition of the Polska Times reported yesterday.

“I’d never have imagined this woman was capable of doing something like this, nor that she’s 80,” district prosecutor Andrzej Lesniak said.

Evidence gathered by police suggests the woman, identified only as Janina M, used the same technique to rob a string of lovelorn seniors.

The woman has denied any wrongdoing.

During the course of their investigation, police found she had eight previous convictions for theft and fraud. – AFP