Taxi ban after drug bust
A taxi service provider has had her licence to carry passengers suspended after being arrested in a major drug bust in December.
Margaret Jean O’Brien, 70, who ran Stratford Taxis, was one of three people arrested during a raid targeting the sale and supply of methamphetamine.
A record amount of meth, 450 grams, was seized during the investigation, dubbed Operation Taxi, along with $350,000 in cash and a late model Toyota motor vehicle.
O’Brien is facing charges of allowing premises to be used for the supply of methamphetamine and money laundering and is due to appear in the Ha¯wera District Court on January 26.
Her passenger licence, issued by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, was suspended following her arrest.
NZTA senior manager safer commercial transport Brett Aldridge said the passenger endorsement for ‘‘Jean O’Brien’’ was suspended because of safety concerns. ‘‘We also have safety concerns around the transport service licence she holds to operate the service and have put these concerns to her.’’
NZTA would consider O’Brien’s response before deciding what happened next, he said.
Stratford Taxis also provided the town’s Total Mobility service, a national scheme aimed at assisting people with impairments to become more mobile and active in the community by providing transport assistance through approved taxi companies and companion driving services, implemented by the Taranaki Regional Council.
TRC transport services manager Chris Clarke said the organisation became aware in mid-December that the operator no longer held a licence and could not provide the Total Mobility service. ‘‘We’re disappointed that Total Mobility is no longer available to users in Stratford, and we’d welcome applications from suitably licensed operators seeking to provide a replacement service.’’
He did not respond when asked whether the TRC had been advised why Stratford Taxis was no longer operating.
The telephone number for Stratford Taxis remains in operation but is being forwarded to another firm in the town, Dial a Lift, ‘‘while the situation is sorted out’’ the woman who answered said.
O’Brien’s co-accused, Logan Reece Maxwell, 39, and Steven George Rowe, 40, have already appeared in court.
Maxwell, who has been in custody since his arrest on December 6, is facing two charges of possession of methamphetamine for supply, three of supplying the Class A drug and two of money laundering. He has not pleaded to the charges and will reappear in the New Plymouth District Court on February 11.
Meanwhile, Rowe, is facing one charge of supplying methamphetamine and one of possessing the drug for supply. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and elected a trial by jury. He has been remanded to reappear on March 9.