"We took a taxi from the Trident Hotel in Nariman Point to Grand Hotel in Ballard Estate. During the ride, the driver spoke over his mobile phone a number of times," Sandra told mid-day
Sandra and Jeffrey Walker. Pic/Ashish Raje
Three foreigners, who were in India to judge the All India Championship Dog Show organised by the Indian National Kennel Club in Andheri, were robbed on Saturday evening by three people in Ballard Estate.
The trio, including Fillipino Jester Jo Ong Chuan and American couple — Sandra Walker and her husband Jeffrey Walker — suspect that the taxi driver who dropped them to their hotel was hand-in-glove with the robbers who stole a total of $700 and some Indian currency from them.
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"We took a taxi from the Trident Hotel in Nariman Point to Grand Hotel in Ballard Estate. During the ride, the driver spoke over his mobile phone a number of times," Sandra told mid-day.
The retired biologist added, "When we arrived at the Grand Hotel, we were greeted by a well-dressed gentleman and a hijab-clad woman asking us where they could exchange currency. The man claiming to be from Dubai asked if he could see what the US dollar looked like, and when shown, he grabbed some of it."
Her husband, a diagnostic engineer in New Boston, was accosted by the same duo who "took advantage of his disability" and stole the cash inside his wallet.
Chuan, who was to pay the cab driver, went into the hotel lobby to ask for change. "When I was exiting the hotel, a third accomplice standing at the door of the hotel asked to look at my money and stole some of it," said Chuan, an elected government employee in Manila.
"Sandra lost $150, Jeffrey $250 and I lost around $300 along with R4,100," Chuan told mid-day.
"I was shocked to learn that international tourists are being targeted by hooligans in Mumbai," said Phiroze Jhaveri, vice president of the Indian National Kennel Club, who later accompanied the trio to the MRA Marg police station to register an FIR.
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