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Suspect Tries To Use Cab Driver To Rob Walpole Grocery Store

WALPOLE (CBS) - Cab driver Khaled Darwich has plenty of crazy work stories, but this Sunday was a first.

Darwich says, "Usually sometimes we get call for a cab, we go, but no one is available, but never like this."

It started when Darwich got a call from a man to take him from the Stop and Shop in Walpole to the airport. When he arrived, he got a second call and that's when he says things got weird.

"He said 'where are you?' I said front door, he told me to walk to customer service and help me with my luggage so I said OK."

Darwich went in, went to the customer service desk, then the man called again. But this time, he wanted to talk to the woman behind the counter.

"He said put the money in the bag and she hanged up," Darwich says. "Then he called on the regular store phone."

The man kept calling demanding cash from the store and telling them to give it to Darwich. When that didn't work, he tried a bomb threat which cleared the store.

Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael says, "It was kind of a shot in the dark to see if they would hand the money to cab driver who again was unwitting."

A risky move the caller hoped would pay off, but one Khaled Darwich says didn't have a chance.

"If this did happen, I (would) not take the money, I'm not stupid," Darwich said.

Police tell WBZ, they believe this man has called in bomb threats to several area grocery stores in the area.

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