Three accused of targeting taxis

THREE men have been charged after a series of armed robberies targeting taxi drivers.

Police say the incidents involved offenders getting into taxis, acting as fare-paying passengers, and directing the drivers to a destination before threatening and robbing them.

The first happened on Diana Street in Newcastle, in the early hours of October 19, when a driver was robbed at gunpoint by two men.

Next, a driver was the victim of a knifepoint robbery with three offenders near Priory Court in Gateshead on November 3.

Two further gunpoint robberies took place in Byker with two offenders responsible.

Both crimes were in the early hours of November 6, both on Brinkburn Street, after drivers earlier picked up fares from other locations.

The taxi drivers targeted in these robberies were shocked by the incidents but otherwise unharmed and have been helping police.

Detectives in Newcastle charged three men.

• Brandon Makumbe, 20, of Priory Court, Gateshead, was charged with one count of robbery and threatening a person with a bladed have instrument.

• Silindokuhle Mabaso, 18, of Avondale Rise, Byker, was charged with three robberies and two counts of possessing an imitation firearm and threatening a person with a bladed instrument.

They both appeared before Bedlington Magistrates on Thursday.

The third man was due to appear at the Bedlington court yesterday. Al-Hazzar Aremu, 18, of Fourstones Close, Kenton, was charged with four robberies, three counts of possessing an imitation firearm and threatening a person with a bladed instrument.