Taxi Driver Online

Driver fined for illegally picking up passengers

A PRIVATE hire driver has been forced to pay out more than £1,200 after he picked up passengers on the street. Nasrullah Ashraf let two passengers into his car after they flagged him down — but they were special police constables carrying out an undercover sting operation with Trading Standards officers.

Ashraf has now been fined after admitting illegally picking up passengers. He also had seven penalty points added to his licence after admitting plying for hire and driving without insurance to cover that use.

The offence happened last December when Trading Standards carried out an operation in Nelson Square, Bolton. Special police constables flagged down private hire vehicles and asked to be taken to a destination, without booking beforehand. They got into a Toyota Avensis at 8.15pm outside the Spinning Mule pub and asked to be taken to The Thomas Egerton pub in Egerton.

Andrew Morris, prosecuting, said: “The problem with plying for hire in urban areas is rife and it effects the hackney carriage trade who have business taken from them.”

Ashraf, of Blackburn Road, Bolton, did not attend Bolton Magistrates Court because he was out of the country visiting a sick relative. Ajmal Hussain, defending, said that Ashraf was not told he was being prosecuted until mid April, by which stage the defendant could not remember the incident.

At a previous hearing, Mr Hussain asked for the case to be dropped due to the delay, but his argument was rejected. He said: “The defendant is in a difficult position. If it went to trial he does not know what he did.

Officers would give evidence against him and he cannot recall what happened. “He has taken the view that he wants to put an end to this because the cost is accruing.” He was fined £400, ordered to pay £800 towards the £1,300 costs, and a £15 victim surcharge.

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IDFIMH

I would have thought that the offense would have been mentioned at the time. He probably can't remember this offense because he does it so often.

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Grandad,