Moscow cab driver allegedly robbed and drugged up to 100 passengers, at least one dead
A 29-year-old ‘gipsy cab’ driver has been arrested near Moscow on suspicion of killing a prominent radio host, and is potentially linked to drugging up to 100 people. The victims were given psychotropic drugs, the apparent intention being to rob them.
Footage released by Russian news outlet Zvezda shows the moment the suspect is overpowered by police officers right in the middle of the road. Law enforcement reported finding in the suspect’s apartment some 190 tablets of clozapine, an antipsychotic medication that works by altering the balance of chemicals in the brain, according to Telegram-channel Mash.
A stash of 20 mobile phones and almost 100 wristwatches was also discovered during the search. The man rented a Mercedes and offered his ‘gipsy cab’ services to clients, according to Russian media.
Allegedly, some took water from the man completely unaware that it was a drink laced with a psychoactive drug. Apparently, the sight of an expensive car might have led passengers to let their guard down.
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Police began their hunt for the criminal after the death of a prominent 51-year-old Russian radio host, whose body was found in Moscow in April this year. Initially, it was believed that alcohol abuse had led to the journalist’s death, but forensic examination eventually showed that the man had been poisoned, robbed, and left to die on the street. The assailant is also being “investigated for involvement in almost 100 murders in Moscow," Mash reported.
