Three taxi and private hire drivers have been fined and handed eight penalty points each after being caught illegally picking up passengers during undercover enforcement operations around Old Trafford at major sporting events in 2025.
Trafford Council brought the prosecutions following investigations at high-profile football and cricket fixtures. Manchester City Council-licensed Hackney Carriage driver Ka Lun Wong, 59, was found guilty in his absence of unlicensed plying for hire and driving without valid insurance during the England v India Test match at Lancashire County Cricket Club in July 2025. Manchester Magistrates’ Court fined him £660, ordered him to pay a £264 victim surcharge and £660 in prosecution costs — a total penalty of £1,584.
Wolverhampton-licensed private hire driver Muhammad Adnan, 40, pleaded guilty to unlicensed plying for hire, driving without insurance and failing to wear his driver’s badge, relating to the same cricket fixture. He was fined £430, ordered to pay a £172 victim surcharge and £198 in costs, totalling £800. Both cases were heard at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 24 July 2026.
A third prosecution involved 65-year-old Manchester City Council-licensed Hackney Carriage driver Tahir Islam, who pleaded guilty at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on 15 July 2026 to illegally plying for hire and driving without insurance after picking up an undercover officer before Manchester United’s home match against Sunderland in October 2025. He was fined £484, ordered to pay a £182 victim surcharge and £200 towards costs. All three drivers received eight penalty points on their driving licences.
Under Trafford’s licensing rules, only Hackney Carriages licensed by Trafford Council itself can legally pick up passengers who hail them within the borough. Drivers licensed elsewhere — including by Manchester and Wolverhampton, as in these cases — can only carry pre-booked private hire work. A Trafford Council spokesperson said picking up an unbooked fare automatically invalidates a vehicle’s insurance, adding that the council “will continue to take enforcement action where individuals do not adhere to these rules.”
For drivers, it’s a useful reminder that cross-border licensing doesn’t extend to street hailing — a licence from one authority doesn’t give you the right to ply for hire on another authority’s patch, however tempting the crowds outside a major event might look.
If you are travelling to Liverpool or Manchester Airport, Manpool Transfers offers airport pickups and drop-offs across Liverpool.
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