A Bradford taxi driver, who was caught smuggling a £4 million haul of heroin into the UK, has been jailed for eight years.

Muhammad Shafiq Khan, 44, claimed he had flown to Pakistan because his grandmother had died.

Khan was caught at Manchester Airport trying to smuggle heroin with a street value of more than £4 million.

He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court.

 Khan pleaded guilty to importation of a Class A drug.

Khan, of Brassey Terrace, West Bowling, Bradford, who is originally from Pakistan, was stopped as he returned from Pakistan on Sunday, June 30. He told Border Force staff he had made the trip as his grandmother had recently died.

An initial inspection of one of his smaller cases found drugs hidden in its base.

Border Force officers then emptied his larger suit case and noticed that it weighed far more than expected. An x-ray then revealed drugs hidden in the lining of the case.

Tests showed that Khan tried to import 15kg of heroin with an estimated street value of £4,080,000. 
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 TAXI! Nissan showcase the NV200 plug-in cab

President and CEO Carlos Ghosn presented today the Nissan e-NV200 electric taxi for Barcelona, in the presence of the Mayor, Xavier Trias.

Barcelona aims to be the first city in the world to implement a zero-emission vehicle as publically accessible transport.

The city of Barcelona will lead the global rollout of the new e-NV200 100% electric taxi version of which will also be introduced in other big cities around the world and will begin production in 2014 in the city. Nissan and Barcelona City signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the use of electric vehicles as taxis and as delivery vehicles by improving the quick charging network and looking at a range of privileges for zero emission operators.

The Nissan e-NV200 will be manufactured at the factory located in the Zona Franca in Barcelona from mid-2014 with an investment of 100 million euros and will create over 700 new jobs. The factory in Barcelona will be the single global manufacturing plant for the e-NV200 and vehicles will be exported worldwide to a range of international markets.

http://www.dieselcaronline.co.uk/news/taxi-nissan-showcase-the-nv200-plug-in-cab
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Castleford

A taxi driver assaulted two passengers during a row about a £40 cleaning charge after one of the men vomited in his cab,

Gul Zeb, stopped his cab in Cutsyke, Castleford, and told Thomas Lucas and Curtis Bryan to get out, magistrates at Wakefield heard.

The court heard Zeb, 34, pushed both men in the face – causing them to fall to the floor – before driving off.

Mr Lucas hit his head on the floor and was unconscious for a short time during the incident in the early hours of May 6. Mr Bryan suffered a black eye.

Prosecutor, Diane Gomersal said Mr Curtis had been sick in the back of the cab and Zeb asked for a £40 cleaning charge.

Father-of-two Zeb was paid the cash, but a row started about the fee charged.

Mitigating, Paul Blanchard said Mr Bryan and Mr Lucas had drunk a “significant level of alcohol.”

Mr Blanchard added: “He (Gul) accepts he did something he shouldn’t have done and has to accept the consequences for that.”

Vicky Knott, for West Yorkshire Probation Service, said: “His employment is in jeopardy. He has been suspended from his role and expects a five-year-ban from driving a taxi.

“He has also been employed for 15 years as a part time youth worker with Wakefield Council. It involves working with troubled children and also the UK Youth Parliament.”

Zeb, 34, of Stanley Road, Wakefield admitted two charges of assault.

Bench chair Robert Smith sentenced him to 80 hours unpaid work and ordered him to pay £200 prosecution costs plus a £60 victim surcharge.