Police nab nine suspects in taxi robberies probe

BEIJING, April 15 -- Police in Minhang District have caught nine members of a gang that allegedly committed 12 robberies targeting taxi drivers since February.

The nine suspects are between the ages of 17 and 20, unemployed and from other parts of China. They arrived in Shanghai after the Spring Festival, police said.

Six members are migrants from Jiangxi Province and the other three from Shaanxi Province, police confirmed.

Police received a report at 11:30 p.m. on March 7 that after three people flagged down a taxi, the front passenger pulled out a knife and threatened to stab the driver unless he turned over his property and the car.

The driver fought back and shouted loudly for help, so the gang allegedly bashed his head with a brick and then fled, police said.

Investigators immediately launched intensive searches around the area. Based on descriptions by the victim, police recognized two alleged gang members within a few hours on Laobeiqu Road and caught them.

Soon after, officers discovered another suspect, surnamed Zhang, in a lane near Huaxiang Road. He had bloody hands when investigators found him, police said.

At 11:15 p.m. on March 16, another three members of the gang allegedly committed the same scam and grabbed a cell phone as well as 900 yuan (128 U.S. dollars) in cash from the driver. But the three were caught by police within 30 minutes, officers said.

The suspects allegedly said they belonged to the same gang and gave the names of another three members who had fled to other provinces.

The last suspect was caught by police in Jiangxi Province on April 6 and has been sent back to Shanghai.

On Feb. 22, a 23-year-old suspect surnamed Pan, who was an unemployed migrant, allegedly bit a taxi driver's ear and stole his money. Pan was caught by police officers at the scene.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)