Taxi company suffers double blow as thugs attack drivers and wreck cars
Two criminal cases have been opened in two weeks by the owner of popular East London meter taxi company Eagles Taxis after two drivers were attacked and robbed and one of the cabs was torched.
The company’s 10 drivers are now living in fear and are arming themselves with pepper spray and baseball bats, said driver and victim Morne Terblanche, 39.
Owner Raymond Smith said the company had lost a substantial amount of money after its silver Geely sedan was burnt and a white Ikon driven into a tree.
The latest attack took place on Saturday evening when Terblanche was tricked into driving an armed couple.
He told the Dispatch he had just pulled up in front of a Vincent fast food outfit to buy supper when a “decent-looking” man and woman carrying parcels asked for a ride to Cambridge.
Smith said while it was against the company's policy to pick up people from the streets, Terblanche would not have suspected a seemingly “in love” couple. “They had groceries with them. No one can suspect anything is wrong when a man is with a lady.”
Terblanche said the man suddenly pulled out a gun, took his cellphone, and diverted him into nearby bush.
“They forced me to drive on a gravel road in the bush between Cambridge and Morningside.
“I hit the brakes, jumped out and ran and hid in the bush.”
Moments later the car was in flames, along with his earnings of R135.
Smith said he knew something was wrong when Terblanche’s phone went to voicemail.
“Someone called in the taxi number branded on the car to tell us that it was burning.
“I checked Tracker and saw where it was parked.”
Smith said on September 20 one of his drivers in an Ikon sedan was lured to Hemingways Mall by two men who wanted to go to Greenfields.
They robbed him, forced him out of the car and drove to Santa township near the airport.
“We monitored the car’s tracker on my cellphone and alerted Red Alert. They gave chase and the robbers drove into a tree. The driver was caught while the other suspect ran away.
“Shutting down is not an option. We have to keep going. We can’t give up.
“This business is my life,” Smith said.
Cambridge police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi confirmed that the cases had been reported and police were investigating.
They had groceries with them. No one can suspect anything is wrong when a man is with a lady