Two cabbies have been stripped of their licences after allegedly using their vehicles to distribute class A drugs for an organised crime network.
The drivers, whose names have been withheld due to data protection, have been remanded on conditional bail pending a crown court trial.
Revoking their licences, Bath and North East Somerset councillors noted that the allegations remain to be proved but said to bring the case prosecutors must be confident of a realistic prospect of conviction.
The men were awarded their private hire and Hackney carriage licences in 2009 and 2012 respectively.
Only the latter – who was also accused of collecting and concealing monies derived from criminal conduct – attended the hearing.
He said the claims were false and he had no idea what was going on.
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s minutes from the licensing subcommittee hearings for both men on July 15 say: “Members found the charges speak for themselves.
“Members therefore asked themselves whether they were confident that their friends, family or loved ones would be safe and secure in a vehicle driven by this person?
“On the balance of probabilities, members answered the question ‘no,’ given the well-known risks and behaviours associated with those implicated in such allegations, which only serve to undermine public confidence in the licensing regime.
“Accordingly, members did not find the licensee a fit and proper person to hold a licence.
“Whilst members considered suspending the licence, they found that with the licensee remanded on conditional bail the circumstances were such that a suspension would serve no purpose.
“Accordingly, members took a very dim view of a licensee being implicated in such matters and therefore revoke the licence.”
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
