African youth gangs assault taxi drivers

September 13, 2008

MELBOURNE'S Indian and Pakistani taxi drivers are being bashed and robbed by African youth gangs...

... in every case the victims told police their attackers were African and there was always more than one. Knives are the weapon in most taxi robberies reported to police, but meat cleavers and screw drivers have also been used.

Ten of the 12 victims are from the Indian sub-continent ...

Liberal MP Bernie Finn, whose electorate covers the danger zone, said police had to start acknowledging they had a gang problem.

"What we need to do is round up the ringleaders of these gangs and send them home," Mr Finn said.

"We are more than capable of producing our own thugs and thieves without importing them.

"The biggest hurdle we face is that we have a chief commissioner of police who refuses to accept that gangs exist. She won't even say the word gang."

And Mr Finn also said there is 'ethnic gang warfare on the streets'.