One to make Sussex happy
(And apparently 'pled guilty' is more of an American and Scottish thing rather than 'pleaded guilty', in case anyone wants to nitpick my thread title
)Nelson taxi driver was 4 times over cocaine derivative limit
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n ... ive-limit/
A taxi driver who tested positive for the derivative of cocaine and was more than four times the legal limit pleaded not guilty to drug driving.
Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard Sana Majeed initially denied driving while under the influence of drugs, but he later changed his plea to guilty.
However, this was not before the prosecution had incurred massive costs in commissioning an expert report.
Majeed, 28, of Hendon Road, Nelson, pleaded guilty to driving while over the limit for benzoylecgonine.
He was fined £120 with a £48 victim surcharge and £1,085 costs.
He was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
District Judge Alexandra Preston said the defendant knew he had recently taken cocaine and should have known what that meant because he was a professional driver working as a taxi driver.
"You delayed your plea of guilty for a long time, and that meant the prosecution had to get a full forensic report and that cost a lot of money," she said.
Darren Fitzpatrick, prosecuting, said Sajeed had been stopped by police because of a marker on his vehicle.
He gave a positive roadside test for cocaine and the evidential test showed benzoylecgonine at a level of 206 micrograms per litre of blood, against the legal limit of 50mcg.
"The prosecution incurred costs of £1,500 for the preparation of an expert report following his not guilty plea," said Mr Fitzpatrick.
He said Sajeed had no previous convictions.
Sajeed said he had used cocaine the night before on a night out.
