Police have arrested a 25-year-old man for involvement in a gang that robbed taxi drivers in Agia Barbara, while an accomplice is being sought. A case was filed against him for participating in a criminal organisation that committed serial robberies against taxi drivers and violating the laws on weapons and addictive substances.
In particular, police officers of the DIA team spotted the 25-year-old – who was wanted as part of the preliminary investigation for robberies against taxi drivers – getting into a taxi on the morning of April 27 and drove him to the Department of Crime Investigation and Detection of Agia Varvara where he was arrested as he was in possession of a small amount of cocaine.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested man, along with his accomplice, had been pretending to be taxi customers and driving their victims to secluded places since at least March. There they immobilized them, usually using the driver’s seat belt, which they tightened around their necks and, under the threat of using a gun or a knife, they removed sums of money, mobile phones and personal belongings of the drivers and escaped on foot.
The two offenders would board the taxi vehicles together and would usually pay the fare in advance, paying the driver 10 euros, thus gaining the driver’s trust. So far, six cases of robberies against taxi drivers in the area have been solved.
The arrested man was taken to the relevant prosecutor.
