Bogus taxi driver was ordered to stop by terrified passengersA bogus taxi driver who terrified passengers by swerving across motorway lanes and appearing to fall asleep at the wheel has been banned from driving and given a suspended jail sentence.
A court heard Hamza Afzal Sacranie was reported by a woman passenger who abandoned a trip back from Gatwick airport.
Sacranie (24) of Broadway Road, Leicester, terrified passengers so much that they ordered him to stop the Ford Galaxy at a motorway services last June.
They rang the police saying he was a danger on the road.
Checks of the registration and other details revealed Sacranie wasn't licensed to be a taxi driver at all, and the vehicle wasn't insured or licensed for private hire use.
Leicester Magistrates were told on April 2 that when the taxi arrived at the airport for the pick up, its seats were not in the correct position and not all the passengers had seatbelts.
The court heard the complainant and her fellow passengers felt very unsafe during the journey as Sacranie appeared to be falling asleep at the wheel and the vehicle swerved across the carriageway of the motorway.
After persuading Sacranie to stop at a hotel, the complainants noticed that he didn’t have any licence plates on his vehicle. When they pointed this out to him he claimed he'd forgotten to put them on.
The passengers refused to pay him and made alternative arrangements to get home.
Sacranie had claimed to be the owner of a company called S7ven Seat.
But checks revealed that neither the vehicle nor the company had a licence allowing them to trade as a private hire provider.
The court heard how he had previously applied to Leicester City Council for a taxi driver licence in October 2011 but had been refused after failing to meet the required standards.
He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to five offences which included acting as a taxi driver and using a vehicle as a private hire vehicle without a licence, operating as a private hire operator without a licence, fraud and driving without insurance.
He was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
He was also disqualified from driving for a year and ordered to pay £759 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
After the hearing Leicester assistant city mayor for culture, heritage, leisure and sport Piara Singh Clair, said: "This case shows the importance of ensuring that journeys are only booked through fully-licensed private hire operators.
"We carry out stringent checks and balances before giving anyone a licence to be a taxi driver, so passengers know they are in safe hands when they book or catch a taxi in the city."
Read more:
http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Bogus ... z2xx6rHqK9
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