Cabbie may have been in on robbery of Ryan Lochte, teammates

dal Trigger

Ryan Lochte at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Team USA swimmers who were robbed at gunpoint while leaving a party in Rio may have been set up by their cabbie.

Rio’s former police chief speculated Monday that the driver bringing the four swimmers, including gold medalist Ryan Lochte, back to Olympic Village could have been in cahoots with the armed robbers who were involved in the Sunday stickup.

“Where is the taxi driver?” Ubiratan Angelo told NBC News. “[He] disappeared. Nobody knows.”

Lochte and his teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were riding back to their room around 3 a.m. Sunday when they were approached by a group of gun-slinging thugs posing as police officers.

“These guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing, just a police badge and pulled us over,” he told NBC. “They pulled out their guns. They told the other swimmers to get down on the ground. They got down on the ground.”

But the 32-year-old Olympian claimed he didn’t give in as easily at first.

“I refused. I was like, ‘We didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m not getting down on the ground,’” he said.

Lochte eventually gave in when he realized his life was in danger.

“The guy pulled out his gun. He cocked it, put it on my forehead and he said, ‘Get down.’ I put my hands up. I was like, ‘Whatever,’” he said.

All four were robbed of their wallets and cellphones, but none was injured.

“While it is true that my teammates and I were the victims of a robbery early Sunday morning, what is most important is that we are safe and unharmed,” Lochte said in a statement posted on Twitter. “I am honored to have represented the U.S. here at the Rio Olympics and to win gold for my country alongside my teammates.

“I look forward to getting home so that I can begin to map out the plans for my future with an eye on representing #TeamUSA at the #2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

Lochte scored his sixth Olympic gold medal for the 4×200-meter relay, but didn’t medal in his sole individual event of the Games, the 200-meter medley.

His teammate, Olympic legend Michael Phelps, won gold in the 200-meter medley.

While Phelps wasn’t at the party with his fellow swimmers, he said that safety is always a top priority.

“Every time I travel internationally, obviously, we always make sure things are very secure no matter where I’m going,” he said. “USOC and USA Swimming are always making sure we’re as protected as we can be.”