Taxi driver's terror at armed police raid
A TAXI driver has spoken of his terror at being confronted with officers armed with guns when he became caught up in a police drugs operation.
Yellow Stripe Cabs driver Imtiaz Ahmed (38) was horrified when he found himself in the middle of the police raid in Newton Way, off Boongate, on Thursday, as officers arrested his passengers on suspicion of drugs offences.
As Mr Ahmed drove his silver Hackney carriage taxi away from the Restover Lodge Hotel, the police swooped, surrounding the vehicle as firearms officers trained their sights on its occupants.
Mr Ahmed said: "They were shouting at me to put my hands up, but I couldn't move. I was completely frozen, like ice, I was just totally shocked.
"Thoughts of my wife and children were running through my mind.
"I had no idea when I picked them up that we might get caught up in this sort of thing. Taxi drivers just treat everyone as fare paying customers."
Police arrested five men, a 16-year-old male and a woman on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs following the operation.
Pakistan-born Mr Ahmed, of Northfield Road, Dogsthorpe, revealed he had picked up two of those arrested from an address in Westwood, before bringing them to the hotel, where two more men got into the taxi with them.
He said that his taxi was searched by police for signs of drugs and police seized items from the ground under his vehicle.
Officers also searched a Renault Clio, in which some of the suspects had tried to leave the area, removing items from the car. Police later confirmed that Class A drugs had been seized at the scene.
Mr Ahmed, a father of four daughters, was a factory worker before becoming a Peterborough cab driver eight years ago. Though he believes his job is not dangerous, he might have difficulty convincing wife Afshan (38) to let him stay in the business.
He added: "When I told my wife what had happened, she was upset and said that I would have to find another job. I told her I would think about it and see how it goes."
According to Mr Ahmed's colleague Shaukat Ali, incidents like this are a rarity for taxi drivers.
He said: "It's not really that dangerous a job, you get the odd incident with drunk people but nothing really serious."
Of the seven people arrested by police, two men aged 22 and 20 from London and a 34-year-old Peterborough woman remain in custody.
The other three men aged 25, 22 and 21, also from London, and a 16-year-old boy from London, were released on bail yesterday.
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