Police arrested a 39-year-old taxi driver Thursday night who allegedly posed as a police officer to rob young commuters along F.B. Harrison Street.

The suspect, identified as alias “Ben,” was apprehended by operatives from Pasay City Police Station’s Sub-station 1. The Valenzuela City resident was targeted following an intensified monitoring effort linked to a 5 February robbery involving two female students.

In that incident, the students reported that a taxi driver intimidated them with a firearm while identifying himself as a police officer. The suspect allegedly demanded more than P6,000 in fare and forcibly transferred funds from one student’s digital wallet before letting them out near a terminal.

Officers spotted the suspect’s white taxi, plate number UVV 466, parked suspiciously at approximately 11:45 p.m. during a patrol.

A search of the suspect revealed a firearm replica with a magazine tucked into his waistline. Inside the vehicle’s center compartment, police recovered a riot-type hand grenade. The suspect was unable to provide legal permits for the explosive or the replica.

The suspect is currently held at the Pasay City Police custodial facility. He faces charges of illegal possession of explosives and violations of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.