MADRID

Drivers for the ride-sharing service Uber will receive penalties of up to €18,000 (£14,000, $22,500) and could have their cars immobilised under new laws imposed by Madrid's local government.



The new measures will be seen as a significant victory for the taxi industry in Spain, which has been lobbying against Uber ever since the service launched in the country earlier this year.
 

It has been disputed that drivers who do not hold the proper permits are unable to use their vehicles to transport people for profit under Spanish law.



"We held a meeting in which we expressed the commitment of the community to ensure the safety of users and prevent unfair competition and we will work together with the taxi to inspect and punish pirate vehicles already operating at the airport, Uber phone or applications, " Borja Carabante, Spain's deputy minister of transport, infrastructure and housing, told 20minutos.



The fines imposed will range from €4,000 to €18,000 and will be enforced by local police. It is not yet clear how vehicles operating with Uber will be spotted by authorities when there are no physical markings that distinguish regular cars from Uber cars.



Uber currently operates in over 200 cities across 45 countries around the world and is continuing to expand internationally despite resistance from local taxi organisations and unions.


http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/uber-drivers-spain-face-14000-fines-1468707
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DUBLIN


Taxi driver jailed after cocaine worth €200,000 found in boot of his car

Alan Rowe (58) agreed to transport drugs to pay off a debt to dealers

Alan Rowe developed a cocaine habit after the collapse of his marriage, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard. Photograph: PA Wire

Alan Rowe developed a cocaine habit after the collapse of his marriage, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

A taxi driver has been jailed for four and a half years after he admitted having over €200,000 worth of cocaine in the boot of his car.

Alan Rowe (58) of Oxmantown Road, Dublin 8 said he agreed to transport the cocaine to pay off a drugs debt. He developed a cocaine habit in his 40s after the collapse of his marriage.

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the drugs for sale or supply at Collierstown, Co Meath on January 22nd, 2009.

Garda Stephen O’Keefe told Sinead McMullen BL, prosecuting, that after a confidential tip, gardaí followed Rowe in his car and stopped him. During a search of the boot they found six blocks of cocaine wrapped in masking tape. The drugs had an estimated street value of €207,108.

Judge Martin Nolan was told that gardaí later found €58,000 worth of cannabis in his home and €6,000 worth of amphetamines at his business address on North King Street, Dublin.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/taxi-driver-jailed-after-cocaine-worth-200-000-found-in-boot-of-his-car-1.1953678
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OLDHAM

A taxi driver who tried to avoid a string of speeding fines by inventing another motorist has been jailed.

Mohammed Khawaja, 60, of Oldham, was sentenced to eight months by Manchester Crown Court. He had pleaded guilty to five counts of perverting the course of justice and one of providing false information.

He had been caught speeding by cameras five times between June and December 2013.

But when a notice of intended prosecution was sent to Khawaja, of Chamber Road, he returned it and claimed he had sold the Ford Focus that had been caught on camera to a Mr Mohammed Saleem in June 2013.

The notice was then sent to an unoccupied house and Khawaja falsified a registration document.

His web of lies began to unravel when a family moved into the home and objected to receiving further prosecution notices.

Police found the satellite tracking system in Khawaja’s taxi proved he had been driving it after he claimed to have sold it. He was also found to be paying monthly insurance instalments on the car.

And, contrary to taxi licensing rule,s no record of the car sale could be found. The final nail in Khawaja’s coffin came when a licensing officer even saw him driving the car.

Police Constable Vaughan Sherrah-Davies said: "Khawaja went to great lengths just to avoid paying his speeding fines.

"He concocted an elaborate scheme and invented a totally fictitious person whom he claimed he had sold the offending car just to wriggle out of the offences.

"I am sure now this case has been concluded, as it is highly unlikely he will ever be able to drive a taxi again, he is wondering whether it really was worth it just to avoid getting a fine and points on his licence.

"This case demonstrates what can happen if you provide false information on notices of intended prosecution.

"Warnings are clearly placed on the front of these notices that if you provide false information or pass the notice to another person you risk a far greater fine and possibly imprisonment.

"While I would encourage people not to be tempted to provide false information just to get out of paying £60 – the key message for me is to remind people to just slow down in the first place and respect the speed limit."
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/taxi-driver-who-invented-another-7889192?