Trinidad: Maxi taxi passengers terrorised in coordinated hijack-style robbery

Trinidad and Tobago: Passengers on a maxi taxi travelling along the Priority Bus Route near Lopinot Road in Arouca, were left terrified and in tears when the vehicle they were travelling in was ambushed on Wednesday. The incident appears to have been carefully staged by a female passenger acting as a decoy, said the victims.

The onboard passenger on maxi taxi spoke to the media regarding the incident and informed the officers that they were heading towards east, a passenger who was sitting at the back, and was dressed in full female Muslim attire, buzzed the bell to get down from the taxi.

The passenger then walked to the front with a hand bag in hand and paid the driver in cash.

But as soon as the driver opened the gates of the taxi, five men who were wearing hoodies and bandanas over their faces, rushed inside while being armed with guns and knives. Upon entering they announced robbery and started taking several valuables from female passengers.

One of the eye witnesses also emphasised that the woman who disguised herself as a passenger was not robbed at all and none of the suspects approached her. She just calmly exited the vehicle, and waited for them. When all the suspects got down, they all fled the scene as the decoy passenger appeared to lead the bandits away from the scene.

Authorities stated that the dash-cam footage from the taxi of the scene shows that the suspects were standing there, covering their faces and were waiting for the maxi taxi. The footage appears to confirm that this was a planned ambush. They all planned it all along.

“The coordination of the robbery suggests it was a deliberate, planned hijack-style attack,” stated by the investigators. Additionally the authorities also claim, they have started to investigate the matter and its surrounding, with that officers are trying to locate the bandits.

The community is also terrified with this incident as they suggest “the driver may have had an opportunity to drive off before the bandits boarded, given the suspects' visible presence near the crossing.”