MANCHESTER. OUR ROBBERS ARE NOT THE SHARPEST PENCILS IN THE BOX.

Teenage robbers, including the son of a church pastor, were jailed for a string of robberies against Uber taxi drivers.

Drivers were subjected to terrifying ordeals after the young criminals ordered taxis to addresses in south Manchester.

Victims answering fares were attacked by the masked gang who held them at knifepoint, grabbed them by the throat and punched them repeatedly before robbing them of takings, sat-navs and phones.

Abdullahi Said, 18, of Sandbach Avenue, Fallowfield; Mark Howell, 18, of Aston Avenue, Fallowfield; and Joshua Goveia, 18, of Broomfield Avenue, Moston, have been sent to a young offenders’ institution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to rob.

The gang used the Uber smartphone app to lure some of their victims, but in the end the app helped lead to their capture – after one of the gang, Joshua Goveia, used his own email address to sign up for it.

Some offenders also used their own phones and names when ordering targets’ taxis, and ordered a pizza to their home address with a stolen credit card. Police were then able to track them down.

In all there were 24 robberies, with victims called to addresses in Chorlton, Fallowfield, Withington and the city centre, and it’s believed a number of other perpetrators are still at large.

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