KwaZulu-Natal police have warned all Uber and metered taxi drivers to be on high alert after a spate of robberies in which criminals posed as clients.
In a statement on Wednesday, police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele said in recent incidents, criminals pretending to be clients would want to be fetched from restaurants, nightclubs or other venues and would request to be driven to KwaMashu or close by.
“The suspects used to stop the drivers at gunpoint and rob them of their belongings and also took their vehicles. We are appealing to the drivers to be vigilant and take extra precautions when asked to pick up clients”.
Mbhele said on New Year’s Eve a driver was held at gunpoint and robbed after dropping off a passenger in Ndlondo road. The passenger had asked him to wait while he called someone to pay his full taxi fare but had then pulled out a gun and robbed the driver of cash and his two cellphones.
In another incident on New Year’s Day, shortly before midnight, a driver picked up a passenger in Phoenix who asked to be driven to J section in KwaMashu.
When they arrived at the destination, the passenger pulled out a firearm, a second suspect approached the car, and the men demanded cellphones and cash before forcing the driver into the boot of his car.
– African News Agency (ANA)
