Taxi drivers targeted by thieves

Most of us take taxi drivers for granted; you call them, they come and pick you up. It is this very responsiveness that makes them vulnerable to criminal attacks. Tonight police are warning taxi drivers to be careful after two recent incidents in which drivers were abducted and robbed. On Monday night, police say that taxi driver Kenrick Russell was stopped by three Creole men who asked to go to Goldson Boulevard. Before reaching their destination one of the men put a gun to Russell’s head, searched him and took one hundred and eighty dollars. Russell was then told to head for Orange Walk, but at mile ten on the Northern Highway he was removed from the driver’s seat and placed in the back. At mile twenty-nine on the Northern Highway the car ran out of gas and Russell jumped out and ran. The men shot at him but he escaped unharmed.

There was a similar incident on Saturday night. Thirty-five year old Nyathi Bokang told police he was passing the City Centre that night when he was stopped by four men. He says the men, one Hispanic and the others Creole told him to take them to the Bismark Club on Caesar Ridge Road. Bokang says just before reaching the club one of the men held him from behind while the one seated in the front seat held a gun to his head. They robbed him of one hundred dollars then fled.

So far no arrests have been made, but police are warning all taxi drivers to be careful especially at night and to report any suspicious individuals.