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Forty-year-old Eric Opoku who snatched a brand new taxi cab at gun-point at Kitase near Brekuso in the Akwapem South Municipality of the Eastern Region has been arrested by the Aburi Police. Taxi snatching has become rampant in some areas between Kwabenya in the Ga East Municipality and Kitase in the Akuapem South District. So far, four taxi drivers have been robbed under violent circumstances. Police at Aburi have confirmed that all these incidents took place near the Commet area between Kwabenya and Brekuso. Eric Opoku, who claimed to be a phone dealer, together with his accomplice, one Francis, attacked cab driver Edmund Sarkodie with a gun and machete. They subsequently collected all of the driver�s money and his cell phone and sped off in the taxi towards Aburi. A Good Samaritan, who saw the taxi driver bleeding after the robbery, notified police personnel at the Brekuso police station about the incident. Confirming the arrest to Daily Guide, the Mampong District Police Commander, ASP Agyenim Boateng said that Eric Opoku had been identified by three other taxi drivers as the one who snatched their cars from them. ASP Agyenim Boateng said Eric Opoku �chartered� the taxi around the Commet area. He then pretended to be a mason and went with the driver to buy a bag of cement and shovel at a nearby shop. On their way back, Opoku sent his accomplice a text message and when he got to the place where he was to alight, Opoku asked the driver to remove the cement and shovel from the boot of the car for him. He said as soon as the driver got out of the taxi, Francis emerged from the bush wielding a locally-manufactured gun and ordered the driver to hand over all his money and the car key to them. Eric Opoku, who was holding a polythene bag, removed a machete from it and threatened to kill the driver if he did not obey the order. Francis was said to have hit the driver�s face with the butt of the gun, resulting in a big gash on his face. Sarkodie, the driver, eventually surrendered and gave the duo about GH�90, together with the car key. The two sat in the car and sped off but the timely information relayed to the police led to Opoku�s arrest at Kitase where he and his accomplice were headed. Some Kia truck drivers and taxi drivers at Kitase who had been informed by police about the incident blocked the main road with their vehicles before Opoku and his accomplice reached the town. Together with the police, they arrested Opoku, but Francis managed to escape into the bush, the police commander said. When police conducted a search, a licence plate numbered AS 6543-11, a DVLA sticker, State Insurance Company sticker, a drivers� licence belonging to one James Dzifah and a road worthy certificate of a vehicle with registration number GE 1909-11 were found on him. The police put him before the Mampong-Akuapem magistrate court on June 24 on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and robbery. The court however remanded him into police custody to appear again on July 13 to allow for further investigations. The District Commander advised taxi drivers to be wary of passengers who hire their taxis to quiet neighbourhoods. �If you are a taxi driver and a passenger asks you to take him to a place you don�t know, do not go,� he said.