MIAMI (WSVN) — Authorities have released cell phone video of two men who allegedly posed as police officers and robbed two Swedish tourists while they sat in a taxi cab near Miami International Airport.
Miami Police released cell phone video of the robbery on Thursday.
According to investigators, on July 16, a taxi cab driver transporting two passengers stopped behind a silver Toyota Corolla. The two men exited the Toyota and approached the cab driver and demanded everyone exit the taxi cab. "He started doing like that," Manuel Seminario, the taxi cab driver said as he hits the window of the cab, "and then he opens the door and throw me out."
In the cell phone video, the alleged posers are dressed in plain clothes. "They were showing us police identification, a badge," Seminario said. He was then pulled out of his cab, frisked and robbed of his wallet and green card. The robbers also took cash, bags and jewelry from the tourists.
According to Miami Police, the men said they were searching the vehicle for drugs.
The men also asked Seminario a particular question regarding his passengers. "He asked me for the passenger, and he told me, 'Is she a prostitute?' I said, 'No, are you crazy man? They're just tourists.'"
Miami Police said this is not the first time an incident such as this has occurred. The suspects tried the same stunt at a gas station a mile away earlier, but were unsuccessful when the victim called 911 and ran away.
"We need to identify these two men," Officer Kenia Reyes, of the Miami Police Department, said. "We definitely know that this video is good. Someone that is watching will recognize who these two men are."
Seminario would later take his tourists to Miami International Airport free of charge.
If you have any information on the identity of these police impostors/robbers, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.
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