Taxi driver took €600 from tourists under threat of violence

Police officers from the Syntagma Crime Prevention and Investigation Department arrested a 38-year-old taxi driver on a warrant in the early hours of today. The man allegedly threatened violence after driving a family of Israeli tourists from Athens International Airport to central Athens and took €600 from them.

A case file had been opened against him for robbery, and an arrest warrant had been issued by the competent investigating magistrate.

More specifically, on the evening of August 13, the 38-year-old, working as a taxi driver, picked up a family of tourists from Athens International Airport and drove them to a hotel in central Athens.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the 38-year-old repeatedly threatened to use violence and intimidated the family members, forcing them to hand over €600 before allowing them to get out of the vehicle and retrieve their luggage from the boot.

Shortly afterwards, the family members went to the Syntagma Crime Prevention and Investigation Department to report the incident.

Following a thorough preliminary investigation and analysis of digital evidence, officers from the department identified the 38-year-old as the driver of the taxi involved and opened a case against him.

As a result, in the early hours of today, police officers arrested the 38-year-old on the basis of the warrant and brought him before the Athens Prosecutor’s Office.

It is also noted that a second complaint by a tourist against the 38-year-old is under investigation, in which the suspect allegedly attempted to deceive the tourist in order to obtain €800 from him.