Man robbed six taxi drivers in 24 hours

GARDAÍ in Dublin hope the photofit, below, of a suspect will help in their hunt for a man who violently robbed six taxi drivers in just over 24 hours.

The attacks took place the weekend before last when the culprit took taxis between the north and south inner city. He used a rope, a spanner and a knife to hold up his victims, a number of whom have been unable to return to work.

The man is in his late 20s or early 30s between 5’8” and 5’10” tall, medium build, with dark short hair and a pale complexion. It is understood he may be from the inner city and possibly a drug addict, although gardaí would not speculate on this.

The first attack happened at St Michael’s estate in Inchicore around 6am on Friday, May 23. Five more robberies took place up to lunchtime the following day, three of them at John Dillon Street near Christchurch.

There was just one hour between two of the attacks in the early hours of the Saturday morning. The first of them happened after the passenger took a taxi from Christchurch to Sackville Place and the second when the suspect hailed a driver on nearby Strand Road.

A number of the drivers had to receive hospital treatment after the robberies, in which only a small amount of cash was taken.

“This was a particularly bad weekend, but there has been an increase in attacks on taxi drivers in recent times,” a senior garda said.

“They are usually sporadic incidents but there was a definite pattern to these attacks,” he said.

The National Taxi Drivers’ Union is extremely worried about the upsurge in violence against their members.

They have sought a meeting with Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who is expected to hear their concerns in the next few weeks.