A man has been successfully prosecuted for illegally taxi touting in Westminster, London.
Texan Murphy touted plain clothes officers who were on patrol during #OpSTaN illegal taxi and private hire activity enforcement.
The officers from the Roads & Transport Metropolitan Police Service Cabs Unit charged the man with the offence, where a court date was arranged.
Murphy attended Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday 12 March, where he faced charges of touting, driving without valid insurance and offering taxi/private hire work without an operator's licence.
He was sentenced to fines and court costs totalling £1,385 and handed a 28 day driving disqualification.
Acting as a licensed taxi driver without a valid licence is a serious offence. If caught you could face a fine of up to £2,500. In addition, the act of the offence also invalidates your current vehicle insurance, which may result in further fines of up to £5,000.
In addition to the hefty fines, you could be issued with penalty points on your licence, which are likely to be between six and eight points.
Based on those numbers, Texan Murphy can probably count himself lucky that the Magistrate didn't hit him with the top end of the punishment scale.
Image credit: Pixabay
