Leicestershire taxi driver groomed elderly passenger out of thousands of pounds

A Leicestershire taxi driver has been stripped of his licence after a court found he financially preyed[1] on an elderly passenger. The vulnerable 70-year-old, named only as Lorna, gave GBP5,000 to Tariq Mahmood in 23 payments over a six month period. Lorna's daughter reported Mahmood, 50, of Grange Street, Burton upon Trent, in 2022 to North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC)[2] as the authority under which he was licensed.

Mahmood was found to have already committed a large number of low level offences including road rage and had been banned from driving before, the council said. The local authority ruled it should strip Mahmood of his taxi licence in March 2022. However, he appealed and the matter was taken to Leicester Magistrates Court.

Magistrates upheld the council's decision, but Mahmood again appealed. He appeared in Leicester Crown Court[4] on Thursday, November 30, 2023. Mahmood claimed to the council and two courts the payments were loans, but could not prove that he would have been able to repay the money.

The crown court again upheld the decision to remove his licence. Councillor Michael Wyatt, NWLDC portfolio holder for communities and climate change, said: "We are committed to keeping the travelling public[5] safe, our continued defence of our 2022 decision to remove a licence because the danger the driver posed to the public is evidence of this. "Taxi drivers are trusted to make sure the vulnerable get home safely.

Everybody will have an experience of going out at night, someone getting into a bad state, the call is always "put them in a taxi, get them home safe" - taxi drivers should be trusted to do that."

References

1. ^ financially preyed (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
2. ^ North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
3. ^ Decision on double child-killer Colin Pitchfork's release (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
4. ^ Leicester Crown Court (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
5. ^ travelling public (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)