If you are planning a trip in Venezuela, especially in the city of Maracaibo, and has long hair, you better be more vigilant as that long strands may be target to a group of thieves armed with guns and scissors. They don’t want your money, or your cell phone, or your jewelry, but just your hair.
This notorious hair thieves are dubbed as ‘piranhas’ by the authorities who can steal your hair in a glimpse. Don’t bother trying to fight for your hair as they may shoot you down with their guns.
"You have to see it to believe it," Maracaibo resident Egmari Villarreal said in a video posted on the Panorama newspaper's website. "We're not going to be able to have long hair anymore. As a woman, this is something traumatic."
A local resident Sarai Madrid described how the thieves operate as she had witnessed them more than once in action. These thieves frequent the areas where there are lots of women such as the beach or at the mall. They grab the women’s hair then cut it out with their sharp scissors. Afterwards, they are selling it to hair salons which are then manufactured as hair extensions.
One victim shared her experience with Globovision. Mariana Rodriguez was strolling in a mall when she saw two women walking her way.
"I thought they were going to steal my cell phone, because I had it in my hand at the time, but they took out scissors," she said. "They did not give me a chance to think or to run or anything. And when I looked, I no longer had any hair."
Maracaibo Mayor Eveling de Rosales already heard about these incidents and had deployed police to catch these hair thieves. However, though these incidents were already in the news, the police authorities confirmed that they haven’t received any formal complaint on stolen hairs.
Prices of hair extensions vary depending on the length and the quality but it ranges between $40 and $160 and sometimes $500.
