A taxi driver who regularly ferried a drug dealer around Brighton and Hove has failed in an appeal to win back his licence.
Bodrul Ali, 49, of Valley Road, Portslade, lost his licence after he was caught driving Albanian cocaine dealer Lumture Spahiu.
Spahiu, 28, was spotted dealing from Ali’s cab in Bevendean on Saturday 25 September last year.
Minutes later, Sussex Police stopped the taxi at traffic lights in Lewes Road and Spahiu tried to run off. But he was arrested and found to have 30 bags of cocaine.
He was charged with and convicted of having class A drugs with intent to supply.
Judge Mark Van Der Zwart jailed Spahiu – described in court as an “immigration absconder” with no fixed address – for 22 months at Hove Crown Court on Wednesday 10 November last year.
Read our report of the case here.
In the meantime, in October last year, Brighton and Hove City Council revoked Ali’s taxi and private hire licences. A report to councillors in February said that this was because the driver was suspected of being involved in the distribution of drugs.
Ali appealed against the council’s decision and the case came before District Judge Amanda Kelly at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Monday (12 December) but – after assessing the evidence – she dismissed his appeal.
He had been a licensed taxi driver in Brighton and Hove for 19 years, with no criminal convictions, and he denied knowing that Spahiu was a drug dealer.
Outside court, Ali said that the case had turned his life upside down after the judge upheld the licence revocation and ordered him to pay the council’s £5,639 legal costs.
The council said: “Examination of CCTV footage from Bodrul Ali’s vehicle showed that the same passenger had been transported on numerous other occasions, making multiple stops across the city.
“The council believed the taxi driver was knowingly transporting the drug dealer and was not a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold the taxi licences.
“Mr Ali appealed against this decision but in court on Monday 12 December a district judge dismissed his appeal stating that he had not satisfied the fit and proper test.
“She found that the conclusions of the council that he was knowingly transporting a drug dealer were overwhelming.
“The judge said the council’s decision to revoke the licences was the correct one in the interests of safeguarding the public and she ordered Bodrul Ali to pay the council’s costs.”
Councillor Zoe John, who chairs the council’s Licensing Committee, said: “Taxi and private hire drivers hold a unique position of trust in the community.
“The majority of drivers are brilliant and take their responsibilities very seriously.
“This case was an exception and it highlights that we will not hesitate to take action where a taxi driver falls short of our licensing standards.
“Safeguarding the public is our priority and we are proud of our high licensing standards in Brighton and Hove.
“This was a serious case and we are pleased the judge has upheld our decision and dismissed the appeal.”
