Taxi Driver Online

November 28, 2007 Wednesday

Man guilty of knifepoint robberies

Keighley News

A father-of-three is facing a substantial prison sentence after a jury today found him guilty of robbing two cabbies - including one from Keighley - at knifepoint.

Mohammed Akbar, 29, of Rashcliffe Hill Road, Lockwood, Huddersfield, had denied three allegations of robbery relating to separate attacks on Yorkshire cabbies over a nine-month period.

But after more than nine hours of deliberation, a jury at Bradford Crown Court convicted him on two of the charges.

In May, Keighley-based private hire driver Mohammed Ibrar had £60 taken from him after Akbar produced a knife following a late-night taxi ride from the town to the Bradley area of Huddersfield.

A month later Akbar took a taxi from Leeds city station and again he threatened the driver with a knife in order to get him to hand over £30.

Akbar was also alleged to have robbed a Sheffield cabbie in October last year, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on that charge.

Barrister Elyas Patel, for Akbar, said his client, who is remanded in custody, realised that a significant sentence was inevitable for the offences.

The Honorary Recorder of Bradford, Judge Stephen Gullick, told Akbar that his case would be listed again for sentence hopefully within the next two weeks.
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