'Intimidating' and 'dangerous' haulage boss jailed after making threats to kill

Jarnail Bajwa, who was in charge of Bajwa & Son Midlands Ltd and also Gold Care (UK) Ltd, both based in Bilston, said that he would shoot the boss of a rival firm and a member of his family if they gave an unknown man a job.

At a trial held at Sandwell Magistrates Court, Gurjit Singh Uppal, director of Fastline Distribution Ltd, told of Bajwa's menacing claims.

A member of Mr Uppal's family had previously worked as a security guard but when he left his job, he was attacked, resulting in broken bones. When Bajwa, aged 41, of Marbury Drive, Bilston, saw the pair at a festival in Wolverhampton last year, he told Mr Uppal not to help his ex-employee find a job, telling him: "He only had a head injury. You will be shot by a gun and will be my next target."

Bajwa denied making threats to kill throughout but was found guilty and jailed for 20 weeks. He has also seen his ex-wife and a former colleague get in trouble for running his haulage firm after he was disqualified from the trade in 2014.

He was banned due to not keeping proper records and having drivers on his books who were without the correct licences. But an investigation found that he remained the brains behind the operation, using the help of his ex-wife Kamaljit Kaur and employee Surjit Takhar to keep the businesses going.

Investigators found emails to contractors sent from Bajwa but using Kaur's email account in a bid to flout his ban. And when a traffic examiner requested to speak to the company boss in June last year, a driver told them it was 'Jas', a nicknamed used by Bajwa.

An inquiry revealed that Kaur had no experience in the industry, but agreed to help Bajwa run his businesses due to fears she would lose her house.

Kaur and Takhar, who are both transport managers with both businesses, are also now both banned from the trade.

Nick Jones, West Midlands Traffic Commissioner, said: "Jarnail Bajwa is an intimidating dangerous figure who has no place whatsoever in any compliant operator licensing system. I remind myself that he has already been disqualified indefinitely, but that has not prevented him extending his malign influence. He acts by threatening and intimidating where it suits his purpose."

On Kaur and Takhar, he added: "Both have attempted to mislead me as to the true state of affairs whereby another person has been controlling transport."

In a copy of the Traffic Commissioner's full written decision, he states: "The operator's licence for Bajwa & Son Midlands Ltd was only granted after a lengthy public inquiry with assurances given to me that Kamaljit Kaur would not allow her ex-husband to have any involvement in the business. It is manifest that from an early stage this fundamental undertaking was breached."

He adds: "I make a finding that Jarnail Singh Bajwa has been very much the controlling mind of both Bajwa & Son Midlands Ltd and Gold Care (UK) Ltd. I make a finding that he has been a shadow director and I disqualify him indefinitely under section 28 of the Act." The decision of Mr Jones, also included an order to revoke the operating licence of Bajwa & Son Midlands Ltd and Gold Care (UK) Ltd.