A trip to Linden for a taxi driver late Thursday night ended badly when his passengers knocked him out with a chemical substance before tying him with rope and escaping with his vehicle, cash and cellular phone.
When Lincoln Seales of La Bonne Intention (LBI) came to several hours later, he found himself in a sandy area in Linden but managed to use a second cellular phone that the bandits did not find to contact a friend for help.
Police in a press release last evening said that they are investigating the incident which occurred around 11:30 pm.
In the statement the police said that the incident occurred at Kuru Kuru on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway but a woman close to Seales said that they were already in Linden when it happened.
According to the release, Seales was operating his blue Lancer motor car PJJ 3828 from the Linden Car Park when three men hired him to travel to Linden. However while in the vicinity of Kuru Kuru one of the men pretended to be feeling unwell and requested Seales to stop. As he did so, he was held around his neck and choked while a cloth was placed over his face and he lost consciousness.
Upon regaining consciousness sometime later, Seales found that his hands and feet were tied and his motor car with $15,000 and a cell phone was missing. He however managed to use another cell phone which he had in his possession to call a friend who informed the police.
Seales was subsequently found at Kara Kara by the police.
Recounted what Seales had related to her, the women said that the men hired him to take them to Linden and when in the vicinity of Watooka, “they put something to he face and he black out. He said that was all he remember”.
She said that when he woke up he was surrounded by sand and he found his second cell phone and contacted her. That was around 3:45 am. According to the woman she called a friend who contacted the police.
This newspaper was told the owner of the car travelled to the mining town to provide more details to the police on the vehicle. A relative of the man said that he had been in the taxi business for about five years and was known to operate from Woodlands Hospital or Stabroek Market.
This incident mirrors another which occurred earlier this week during which a taxi driver attached to GR taxi service was held up by two passengers and after being gun butted, stabbed and shot at, the men escaped with his car, cash and other items.
Faran Asif Yassen had told Stabroek News that around 4 am on Monday a man stopped him in front of the Sheriff Night club and inquired about the fare to Bel Air.