NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A group of thieves pretending to be fares in Manhattan are being hunted by police after they robbed 19 cab drivers over the last several months.
The NYPD released new suspect photos of the alleged robbers on Thursday night as the number of incidents across Manhattan continues to climb.
The first robbery took place on Jan. 21, but the frequency of hits has escalated in recent weeks. There were four reported robberies between April 25 and 27, and eight between May 2 and 4, officials said.
In each incident the suspects—almost always in groups of two, three or four—hail a cab while posing as passengers before they snatch the driver’s cash, cards, phones, bags and/or wallets, sometimes with the use of force. The targeted cabbies range in age from 22 to 75.
Police said that the suspects used pepper spray or other unknown liquid substances to subdue their victims in half of the robberies, including in an attack on a 73-year-old man early Sunday morning.
During that incident, three suspects pepper-sprayed their driver near West 46th Street and Eighth Avenue in Midtown before stealing his wallet and cellphone and fleeing on foot.
Medics responded to 10 of the robberies, mostly treating the victims at the scene, except in an incident on April 26 and another on April 27 when the victims needed to be hospitalized.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.