A 38-year-old taxi driver has been arrested in Athens after allegedly threatening a family of Israeli tourists and forcing them to hand over €600 following a ride from Athens International Airport to a hotel in the city center.
The incident occurred on the night of Aug. 13, according to Greek police and multiple local media reports.
When the taxi reached the hotel, the driver allegedly made repeated threats of violence and prevented the family from leaving the vehicle and retrieving their luggage from the trunk unless they paid the money.
The tourists eventually handed over the €600.
The family subsequently reported the incident to police, whose investigators analyzed digital data and identified the vehicle and its driver, who was arrested Tuesday morning under a warrant and taken before an Athens prosecutor.
He faces a robbery charge
Authorities are also investigating a separate complaint from another tourist, who alleges that the same driver attempted to obtain €800 through fraud. Police said the legal fare for the airport-to-center trip would have been about €55.
The suspect was detained by officers from the Syntagma Crime Prevention and Investigation Department. He was brought before the Athens First Instance Prosecutor’s Office following his arrest.