A knife-wielding teenager behind a spate of terrifying armed attacks on cabbies has been locked up for ten years. Mohammed Abdurahman, 19, booked cabs under fake names so he could ambush the drivers.
He used CS spray on one terrified victim, while two drivers were bundled into the back seat of their own vehicles before they were attacked and driven away.
Abdurahman was behind three robberies in Bartley Green between last October and December.
The teenager and accomplices threatened a driver at knifepoint before taking two expensive mobile phones, cash and other equipment in Corn Mill Grove on the evening of October 27.
Three days later, the second victim was punched in the face and dragged to an ATM at knifepoint before his phone, money and Volkswagen Touran were taken.
It happened after a taxi had been booked to take one passenger from Mill Lane to the city centre.
On the third occasion, again in Mill Lane on December 8, Abdurahman claimed he wanted to go to Heartlands Hospital but made the driver get out the car and let off CS spray in his face.
The victim was then driven to a secluded area where Abduraham made off with an Apple watch. His two accomplices fled with a mobile phone and satnav.
Checks of CCTV and links on social media led officers to Abdurahman and he was arrested at his home in Rush Green, Bartley Green, on December 10.
He tried to hide the stolen watch but officers found it and linked it to the last victim.
Abdurahman initially denied any involvement in police interview but later admitted three charges of robbery, two of kidnapping, and having offensive weapons.
He was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court.
Investigations continue into the others involved in the robberies.
