Pick and rob hits Kumasi again
The police in Kumasi have cautioned residents in the region, particularly those in the metropolis, to be wary of some taxi drivers who have been robbing passengers of their valuables.
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The Ashanti Regional Commander, Commissioner of Police Nathan Kofi Boakye, who gave the warning, said the drivers usually operated with other accomplices who posed as passengers and later robbed the innocent passengers before dropping off the victim out of the moving car.
According to the regional commander, places such as Santasi and Ahodwo roundabouts in Kumasi had become the operational areas for these criminals.
The practice, which the police have code named ‘Pick and Rob’ has been prevalent in the region in the past but slowed down following the arrest of some of the perpetrators.
However, the police said the practice had resurfaced and warned commuters, particularly those within the metropolis against patronising taxis that did not operate from recognised stations.
Mr Boakye said if possible, commuters should desist from patronising taxis that operated what was known locally as ‘waawaa’ as those taxis were involved in such crimes.
He said those taxis did not have a specific station but moved from one area to the other.
He said they usually had two ‘passengers’, preferably a male and female on board, so as soon as an innocent victim joined, they robbed the person and later dropped them off in a bushy area.
He advised commuters to always write down the numbers of the taxis they picked at night and send them to their relatives in case of any eventuality.
Mr Boakye also asked commuters not to allow taxi drivers to stop anywhere whenever they picked them in the evening.
In a related development, the police have retrieved five flat screen television sets abandoned in the bush by suspected thieves.
The tv sets, which were concealed in black bags, were found in a bush around the Vienna City area in Kumasi.
The police believed the items might have been stolen and hidden at the place by the thieves.