Paid for the Spray

A Halifax taxi driver has lost his licence after being caught with CS spray in his cab.

Javid Ali of Thomas Street, Halifax, admitted possessing a prohibited weapon.

He was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and was given a community order for 18 months and 100 hours unpaid work.

Police stopped Ali driving his taxi after 2am in Hanson Lane, Halifax.

For some reason police searched his cab and a small CS gas canister was found under the driver’s seat. Ali was arrested and initially denied the spray was his.

He claimed it was pepper spray but later accepted it was CS spray and that he had it for self defence reasons. In his defence Mr Ali pointed out that he had been the victim of a brutal attack and robbery whilst working as a cabbie in 2006. Who can blame him for defending himself you might say, but then it emerges that he has previous convictions for possessing offensive weapons and in 2004 was convicted of having a similar spray. You would have thought that he would have learnt his lesson after that wouldn’t you? Why carry something so blatantly illegal when all he needed was good heavy torch.

Recorder Mark Cran told Ali: “The court understands that as a taxi driver you do feel concerned for your safety.”

He said the assault Ali suffered was “extremely unpleasant” but added: “Possession of a gas canister is completely out of proportion to defending yourself.”