It is a festive season for thieves in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe as one man has been robbed of K200,000 by people who were masquerading as taxi operators.
According to the victim, he was tricked to board a taxi which was ready to hit the road, only for him to learn that they were after the money he withdrew from a bank at Gateway Mall in the city.
The sad story began when he withdrew K200,000 at the said site, not knowing that his move was well read by some ill-willed people at the said site.
In the victim’s narration, he realised that the so called taxi operators were after his money upon reaching the DMI stage.
He said they took him as a passenger and forced him to occupy the middle part of the back seat, under the pretence that some passengers were going to drop off before his targeted stage.
On a sad note, he learned that his bag which accommodated the money, was empty. When he tried to follow the taxi it was nowhere to be seen.
At the moment, the victim, has warned people to be careful when boarding taxis. He believes some operators in this business are conniving with thieves to rob innocent people.
One of the people who once fell victim to this kind of crime, but opted for anonymity, said people should avoid boarding any taxi at night.
“I was once robbed 150K earlier this year by people who pretend to be tax operators of good Samaritan nature.
“People should trust me minibuses or relatives who have cars especially at night. Our towns are not safe,” he said.
In the festive season, Malawi towns become dangerous as thieves take advantage to steal from others.
Yesterday, Police in Lilongwe arrested three suspects who were hiring vehicles as passengers and drugging drivers before stealing vehicles.
The three suspects allegedly stole several vehicles and police have so far recovered eleven vehicles.
Follow us on Twitter:
