Taxi Driver Online

It's a fare cop for dodgy taxi firms


Crackdown on criminals who use cabs as cover for drug and weapon crime

City police have cracked down on organised criminals who have infiltrated privatehire taxi companies.

They found drugs and weapons in some of the cars, while a number of drivers didn't have insurance or weren't licensed.

A 31-year-old man was reported to the procurator fiscal for weapons offences and alleged possession of drugs after being stopped in the south side.

In the city centre, 50 defect notices were issued by police, with six vehicles being banned from the roads.

Up to 154 private-hire vehicles were checked in the city centre and the West End, with 27 alleged offences being detected.

These include drugs, weapons and road traffic offences.

Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill, chair of the Serious and Organised Crime Task Force, said: "This sends a strong message to these crooks and gangsters that we won't allow honest, hard-working cabbies to be driven off the road.

"Tackling serious organised crime is one of the Scottish Government's top priorities.

"Where it infiltrates legitimate business, like the taxi and privatehire trade, we are determined to take action."

The crackdown was part of a Strathclyde-wide operation.

Strathclyde Police carried out an analysis of criminal networks and found a number of serious organised crime groups had infiltrated private-hire taxi firms.

Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said: "Intelligence revealed some taxi companies are either owned by, or have links to, organised crime.

"The vast majority of privatehire taxis operate within the law and as such should be protected from the rogue element that has infiltrated the industry."