Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver jailed for third time over drugs

A TAXI driver who hid more than a kilo of cocaine in his minibus has been sentenced to almost six years in prison. Police raided Darren Catterall’s home on Tavlin Avenue, Dallam, on May 13 this year – discovering drugs with a street value of up to £25,000 hidden in the back of the vehicle the 37-year-old used for his private hire business.

Warrington Crown Court heard on Friday how officers unearthed a black holdall containing seven bags of white powder – some with a concentration of just six per cent cocaine – divided into several smaller bags, along with syringes and electronic scales. David Jones, prosecuting, said £20,000 cash was also uncovered in Catterall’s house.

When interviewed by police Catterall claimed he was holding the drugs for a friend, who he refused to name. He said his friend had asked him to look after the stash for a week while he was away and that he had not realised there was so much cocaine in the bag when he agreed to look after it.

However, the father admitted he was a cocaine user and that he had sampled some of the drugs himself. The court heard that it was accepted by the prosecution that the money was from Catterall’s taxi business and not profits from drug dealing.

Catterall, who admitted a charge of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply, has previous convictions dating back nearly 20 years. These include drug dealing in 1992, for which he served a two-year jail sentence and drug dealing in 1994, which resulted in a four-year jail term.

John Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said his client, a large, stocky man wearing a shirt and tie in court, deserved credit for his early guilty plea and for co-operating with the police. He said: “He knows that he will not be with his partner and his children for quite some time.”

Judge Thomas Teague said: “In many ways you have a lot going for you. Clearly friends, neighbours and relatives who support you and hold you in high regard. “But a large quantity of cocaine was found at your home. It was just more than a kilo, which is a lot.”

Judge Teague said he had no option under Government guidelines but to impose a sentence of at least seven years because it was Catterall’s third conviction for drug trafficking.

Reducing that figure for his guilty plea he ordered Catterall to spend five years and eight months behind bars minus the 71 days he had already spent in custody.

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IDFIMH

Fit & proper. Why bother with CRB's





Call me cynical but some how don't quite believe this to be true

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Thats twice that you have asked to be called this, How you thought about deed poll?

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Grandad,

It's only twice in a year I've asked to be called that and I've been called other things more often so the deed poll is a no no

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

So what is the situation with regarding getting a licence if you’re a drug dealer with a long criminal record like this? Does the fact that he has a minibus and possibly a PSV licence make him exempt from the checks done for normal licences?

If it has more than 8 passengers seats, then the council don't do the licensing. It would need to be PCV. There are no medical or crb checks for PCV drivers.

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Grandad,

Well that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me but then again most taxi legislation dosn't.

So if someone with a pcv licence decided to take his vehicle onto a p.h. circuit, would it just be the case that the pcv licence is good enough or would it then come under the council’s responsibility i.e. need a full licence and all the checks that go with it ?

It was bad enough wanting to be called "Cynical" So why would she want to be called "Deed Poll"

Sure are some strange people on here

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

i may put a 4 seat back row in and a twin passenger seat, making 9 passengers total and save a bloody fortune then...

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

ahh, a conundrum at last....

i know circuits who have 16 seaters no problem, the driver needs a D1 licence but no CRB (isnt there a PCV medical tho?) but after that, can he do "taxi/PH" work coming into the base?

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

My mistake regarding the medical. There is no medical if you run a vehicle with 8 or less seats under PCV.

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Grandad,

But it would appear many, if not most, if not all, PSV drivers will need to be on the ISA list when it eventually comes out.

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IDFIMH

If the op has a PSV license, then yes.

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IDFIMH

Suppose the logic is that if the driver is a dodgey character with a criminal record, he’s less of a risk to the passengers if there’s eight of them and only one of him unless he’d done time for dangerous diving in which case it definitely not good.

I think form now on I’m going to have a nagging suspicion of all bus drivers on private hire fleets.