As criminals continue to evolve in their strategies to find more victims, ACP Criminal Division and Special Operations Richard Smith is urging ride-share taxi drivers to exercise caution when picking up customers, especially at night.
Smith’s warning comes as several ride-share drivers have been robbed and attacked by bandits posing as legitimate customers.
For 2025 there have been at least five instances where drivers were robbed when they arrived at different areas to meet “customers.”
Each robbery happened at night where bandits created fake accounts on different mobile apps for taxi services which they used to attract their victims.
Contacted for comment Smith admitted it was difficult for taxi drivers to distinguish between genuine customers and bandits.
He said despite this, drivers should always be vigilant and pay particularly close attention to their phone calls with potential customers for any clues which may arouse suspicion.
“It’s difficult for them to ascertain whether it’s a true request being made or maybe even have a woman make the request and when they (the drivers) arrive it’s other people entering the vehicle.
“All I can ask them to do is try to do some proper assessment of the phone call because people can deceive you. But if they suspect anything is amiss, they should pull to the nearest police station and let the officers know they have a suspicion about the customer, because it’s a dangerous job and it would be difficult for them to know whether it is a trap until the last minute when it’s too late.”
Smith also urged drivers to place their safety and well-being before earning money as he said visiting some communities and neighbourhoods for pick-ups or drop-offs could be dangerous.
He, however, lamented that even if drivers limited their visits to “high-crime” areas, bandits could adjust their tactics by asking to meet in other, more public areas to get victims to drop their guard.
Smith, therefore, stressed that vigilance and caution were critical.
Yesterday, ride-share company AllRidi’s operations team noted that they were concerned by the state of crime on a “national level” and were paying attention to incidents involving drivers.
Incidents for 2025
￭ June 22 - A 30-year-old taxi driver was lured to Sam Boucaud Grounds, Santa Cruz, by a woman who placed an order for a taxi. He was attacked and robbed by a woman and five men.
￭ June 10 - A 47-year-old driver accepted an order from a customer at Semp Street, Morvant. On reaching the area, two masked gunmen confronted her and ordered her into the backseat of the car as they drove off with her. She was dropped off along the Lady Young Road and her car stolen.
￭ May 25 - A 36-year-old woman went to Chaguanas to pick up two men who asked to be taken to St Lucien Road, Diego Martin. On reaching the location, one of the passengers pulled out a pistol and robbed her of cash, cell phone and car.
￭ March 24 - A 40-year-old driver went to Pashley Street, Laventille for a customer and drove him to Cameron Road, Latin Village, Maraval where he picked up another passenger. The driver was later robbed and his car stolen.
￭ February 1 - A 36-year-old driver and his 39-year-old passenger were robbed when they went to Chickland Road, Caparo. The driver’s car was stolen.
