Taxi Scam
TWENTY-FIVE
speeding cabbies caught trying to evade roadside camera traps have been
suspended by Oldham Council.
The punishments were handed out at
a special Licensing Panel meeting, held behind closed doors. The private hire
drivers were suspended for between two and six months as a result of having been
convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
They were all investigated as part
of Operation Hendon, a crackdown on the falsification of speeding ticket forms.
The year-long operation was
launched after more than 100 tickets, issued thanks to speed camera evidence,
were returned to Greater
Manchester Police’s
central office bearing the same person’s name.
The drivers admitting giving false
details in crown court.
The police then passed on their
names to
Oldham Council, which
has the power to suspend or revoke their licences.
The Chronicle was excluded from
attending the two-day licensing meeting, with the council citing the Local
Government Act 1972, which allows it to meet in secret.
Oldham
Council said the suspensions were aimed at bolstering customers’ confidence in
private hire drivers — but was unable to name the firms involved.
Head of Trading Standards &
Licensing, Tony Allen said: “Private hire users are entitled to have confidence
that their journey will be safe and with a safe driver.
“For this reason, the council takes
allegations of speeding very seriously and, additionally, takes allegations of
dishonest conduct even more seriously.
“Any drivers attempting to evade
speeding fines will be caught and brought before the Licensing Panel to explain
their actions.”
Oldham
Private Hire Association chairman Allan Taylor said: “If the drivers have
attempted to pervert the course of justice then I agree with the suspensions. I
have to abide by the law, why should they be any different? They have taken
their chances and lost and have to pay the penalty.”
He said the guilty were just a tiny
minority of the 1,000 private hire drivers operating in the borough and their
bans would not cause a shortage. He urged the public not to tar all drivers with
the same brush.
Oldham is the only police division
in the country to successfully mount a major investigation into the practice,
despite it happening nationwide.
A total of 43 men and women were
investigated and charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice with
some still to go through the courts.
The suspended drivers have 21 days
to appeal, but can serve their suspension immediately if they decide not to.
Named and shamed
THE drivers suspended are:
Khalid Judge (47), Oxford Street,
Werneth: three months; Naheem Iqbal (27), Lees Road, Mumps: two months; Ishtiaq
Ahmed (29), Gainsborough Avenue, Chadderton: two months; Aftab Ahmed (30),
Tunstall Road, Glodwick: two months; Sakandar Ahmed (45), Lees Road, Mumps: two
months; Khawal Ali (23), Thorney Hill Close, Mumps: two months.
Majid Ali (29), Thorney Hill Close,
Mumps: four months; Mohammed Aslam Chaudhry (42), Blandford Street, Ashton: two
months; Shazad Qamar (37), Queens Road, Glodwick: two months; Mohammed Abdul
Hannan (37), Featherstall Road, Westwood: five months; Samsul Alam (29), Mona
Road, Chadderton: two months; Waheed Khan (28), Kersley Street, Glodwick: two
months; Mohammed Munir (49), Cranbrook Street, Moorhey: two months. Tariq
Mahmood (33), Grasmere Road, Greenacres: 4 months; Ajmal Mahmood (25), 119
Keverlow Lane, Park Bridge: two months; Mohammed Rangzaib (38), 112 Brompton
Street, GlodwicK: three months; Altab Ali (51), Queen Street, Failsworth: 3
months; Basharat Mahmood (33), 44 Cranbrook Street, Moorhey: 3 months; Asif
Mehmood (37), 52 Hillside Avenue, Greenacres: two months; Syed Masum Ahmed (32),
264 Entwistle Road, Rochdale: 2 months.
Mohammed Iqbal (52), 281 Windsor
Road, Werneth: 6 months; Sheik Saqique (37), 16 Harold Street, North Moor: two
months; Arshad Mahmood (36), 13 Thurland Road, Moorhey: two months; Mohammed
Aslam (44), 14 Thomas Street North, Coppice: two months; Mohammed Mumtaz (49),
53 Oswald Street, Rochdale: two months.
Oldham
Chronicle 19th April.