Bolton cab driver stripped of licence after hearing

Minutes of a meeting of Bolton council’s licensing panel held on October 28, published this week, reveal details of a hearing of alleged misconduct by a licensed private hire driver.

Bolton council said the driver was arrested in Sheffield on September 27, 2024 for the alleged offence of supplying controlled drugs and money laundering.

The published report stated that South Yorkshire Police observed what they thought was a drug deal.

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The minutes said officers stopped the cab driver’s vehicle and while searching the interior, £5,200 cash was found.

Councillors heard the driver was bailed until March 2025, pending further investigation.

The report said it was confirmed by the police on the day of the licensing meeting that a decision to take no further action had been made.

However, the licensing panel sought an explanation from the private hire driver about the incident.

The report, said: “The driver stated that he had taken his vehicle to the garage with a problem, this was just a few days after the vehicle passed its taxi MOT.

“He was advised to take the vehicle on a good run. He drove the vehicle to Sheffield because he wanted to go up and down hills.

“At some point he pulled over to locate a Mosque on Google maps. He asked a passing male for directions, this male entered the vehicle and ran off before the police attended.

“The male had left a bag in the vehicle containing the large amount of cash found by the police. The driver also stated he had removed the livery from the vehicle and placed this in the boot.”

The report said that the committee believed that a transaction had taken place, on the balance of probabilities.

The report, said: “The committee found that the driver had not told the truth about his reason for driving to Sheffield.”

They found that the driver had given an unrealistic account for the large amount of cash found within his taxi vehicle.

The committee said they were also concerned about a breach of requirements about control of the vehicle mobile phones from April, 2022 and four

separate complaints alleging dangerous driving.

They also heard about a complaint regarding requesting a cash payment.

The committee voted to revoke the driver’s licence to drive a private hire vehicle with immediate effect on the grounds of public safety.