MANILA, Philippines—A couple who rides taxis together to rob their drivers is now behind bars after police arrested the pair as they were walking on a busy street allegedly looking for prey.

The suspects, identified as Ronald and Belinda Octavio, aged 31 and 34, respectively, were arrested by the Quezon City Police District’s Police Intelligence Operations Unit on Congressional Ave. Thursday night, police said.

The arrest was effected after the couple’s latest victim, cab driver Domingo Aguilar Jr., 69, reported the robbers’ modus operandi to policemen.

Supt. Marcelino Pedrozo Jr. said his men caught the Octavios, both armed with knives, while they were waiting for another taxi to flag down.

“They have been previously jailed for robbery and theft. They left their house in Saolo Compound in Barangay Bahay Toro to lie low for a while so they won’t be arrested,” Pedrozo told the Inquirer.

He added that the couple only returned to their old home last week. The Octavios were jobless and have three children to feed, Pedrozo said.

Initial investigation showed that the couple’s latest victim, Aguilar, was accosted by the Octavios on October 21 at 1 a.m. at the corner of Mindanao and North Avenues in Quezon City.

The couple rode in the back of the cab and asked Aguilar to take them to the Saolo Compound in Bahay Toro. The driver sensed something when the couple switched seats.

Upon arriving at their destination, the Octavios allegedly announced the heist at knifepoint and seized Aguilar’s earnings of P2,700 for the day, plus his cellphone.

“Only his driver’s license was spared and the victim was told to drive away if he didn’t want to get hurt,” Pedrozo related.

But upon driving away, Aguilar saw another cab driver who told him that the modus operandi was rampant in the area. The victim later confirmed this with the Talipapa police station, where he was told that there were indeed past cases of a couple riding taxis and then robbing the drivers dry.

Pedrozo said two more complainants surfaced over the week and positively identified the Octavios as the ones who also rode their taxis and robbed them.

“There have been at least eight reported cases with a similar modus operandi, so we have been really tracking the suspects down,” Pedrozo added.

The QCPD intelligence unit received a tip from an informant that the couple was seen walking along Congressional Avenue on Thursday night, prompting operatives go after them.