Staffordshire cabbies hit with £2k worth of fines
Three taxi drivers in Stone have been hit with a bill of more than £2,000 after being caught in an operation to crack down on illegal drivers.
Three drivers admitted plying for hire illegally earlier this year. The three took undercover officers from Station Road in Stone to the town's Darlaston Inn.
The defendants, all from Stoke-on-Trent, appeared before Stafford Magistrates on September 2.
Mohammed Nasir, 34 of Crowther Street, pleaded guilty by post to two charges of plying for hire illegally and not having the appropriate insurance and was ordered to pay fines and costs of £909.30.
Shahid Mahmood, aged 33, of Upper Belgrave Road, admitted similar charges when he appeared before the court and was given £613.60 in fines and costs
Shawaiz Iqbal, also 33, of Hamilton Road pleaded guilty to plying for hire illegally and received a £513.60 bill.
The court heard the drivers were stopped in a joint operation between Stafford Borough Council and police officers, in April and May, looking at enforcement of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.
Drivers who do not have a hackney carriage licence can only pick up passengers that have booked in advance - and it is illegal for them to collect customers in the street or from a taxi rank.
The 'Safer Nights' operation aims to reduce the risks to residents of uninsured and unsafe vehicles on the roads in the borough.
Cabinet member for environment and health, Councillor Frank Finlay, said he hoped the fines would send a message to others: "We are determined to clamp down on drivers who stick two fingers up at the law by picking up customers when they are not entitled to."
