Police apprehend pair after alleged carjacking and assault of 25-year-old Uber driver

AN Uber driver was allegedly carjacked and assaulted in Manly in the early hours of Saturday by two men who have since been charged.

• Would-be carjackers fail to figure out how to drive a manual
• Police carry out drug raid to shocking property
• Drug raids net nearly $3 million worth of marijuana
• Hardware company worker allegedly stole $1.8m

AN UBER driver was allegedly carjacked and assaulted in Manly in the early hours of Saturday by two men who have since been charged.

Police said the driver, a 25-year-old from Bankstown, had been booked by someone who wanted to be picked up at an address in The Corso about 12.50am.

Police will allege that when the driver arrived, he couldn’t find the client so parked by the side of The Corso, which eventually leads into Darley St, and it was there the car jacking took place.

It is the second car jacking attempt on the peninsula in 10 days.

Northern Beaches duty officer Inspector Gill Hough said a group of men who had been drinking in a hotel on The Corso approached the vehicle, a silver Holden Cruze.

Two of them allegedly pulled the driver from his car and one of them punched him in the face, causing him to fall.

But the alleged victim got to his feet and ran away.

Police said one of his attackers got into the car and drove it into Darley Rd.

He then continued into Victoria Pde, where he met four of his friends who were in another car.

The man who allegedly stole the Uber then got into his friend’s car but before they could escape, police intercepted them.

Police believe the two men had not booked the car and did not know the person they allegedly attacked was an Uber driver.

A 21-year-old Warriewood man was charged with assault with intent to take a car, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and low range drink-driving.

A 21-year-old Newport man was charged with assault.

On September 26, two thieves unable to drive a vehicle with a manual transmission turned an attempted­ carjacking at Dee Why into a farce when they could not put it into gear.