Driver robbed at Parafield Gardens in third taxi theft in SA in a week, man arrested over two incidents

A man has been arrested and linked to two violent northern suburbs taxi robberies in recent days, both involving a knife.

A man has been arrested over two violent taxi thefts in recent days that both involved drivers being threatened with a knife in Adelaide’s north.

In the most recent robbery, a man armed with a knife approached a taxi driver at Morgan St in Parafield Gardens about 9.30am Tuesday and pushed the driver out of the taxi before driving away in it.

The driver, 37, was not injured in the incident and the stolen vehicle was tracked and found a short time later, abandoned in a shopping centre carpark on Martins Rd.

In a similar incident on Sunday, police were called to Northbri Ave at Salisbury East about 8.30am when a taxi driver was threatened by two male passengers.

The pair had been picked up from Elizabeth South when one of the passengers threatened the driver with a knife and demanded he leave the vehicle before the two suspects drove off in the taxi.

The driver was not injured and the car was later found in Parafield Gardens.

Officers searched the area and found one suspect, a Renown Park man, 27.

He was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and illegal use, and was refused bail and was expected to appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Monday.

Following investigations, police arrested a man of no fixed address, 48, on Tuesday evening and charged him over both northern suburbs robberies.

Taxi driver Phil Nunn on South Terrace, last month. Picture: Michael Marschall

In a third similar incident involving a separate suspect, a taxi theft came to a crashing end in the Adelaide CBD on Friday night.

The driver stopped in King William St about 9.30pm Friday and briefly stepped out of the vehicle when an opportunistic man got in the driver’s seat and took off.

The taxi crashed with a parked car while heading west on Currie St.

The suspect ran way on foot but was arrested nearby.

The Munno Para West man, 28, was charged with illegal use of a motor vehicle, driving without due care and other offences.

He was bailed to appear in court at a later date.

The state’s Taxi Council President, John Trainer, said drivers deserve to feel safe on the job, and those that attack them will be caught.

“Taxi drivers perform a very important community service and they’re exceptionally vulnerable and need every protection they get,” he said.

“Those who carry out these attacks need to bear in mind that they’re not going to get away with it.”

He said every taxi is equipped with satellite tracking and security cameras.

Data from the Taxi Council’s December 2021 board meeting provided by SA Police showed that between September and October last year there were 11 assaults against taxi drivers that led to seven arrests.

Mr Trainer said data to January was not available, due to police staff being on Covid-19 duties and unable to attend meetings to present statistics.