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136 
P LEGAL. PRTFs
Page 24
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Maintenance problems
THE AUTHORISATION on the national licence held by Bristol-based company ETM Contractors has been reduced from 30 vehicles to 26 by Fiona Harrington, the Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner.
The firm had been called before the DTC at a Bristol disciplinary inquiry because of concerns over its vehicle maintenance record.
A series of undertakings were given in relation to the company's future maintenance arrangements and driver training. These included a random audit of at least 14 vehicles — and the trailers hauled by those vehicles — each week to ensure drivers were undertaking their daily checks correctly. There should be a monthly random audit of safety inspections conducted when five vehicles and five trailers that had undergone an in-house preventive maintenance inspection within the last 14 days would be checked by either an external contractor or a qualified third party.
Licence revoked
The licence held by Birmingham-based International Container Services has been revoked on grounds of repute and finance by the West Midlands Traffic Commissioner, Nick Jones.
The company had been called before the TC at a Birmingham disciplinary inquiry because of concerns over its vehicle maintenance records and financial standing.
The TC held that sole director and transport manager Buta Singh had lost his repute as a transport manager.
He directed that if Singh sought to regain his repute, he would have to appear before a TC and explain the shortcomings and how he had addressed the deficiencies.
Drug smuggler jailed
NEWPORT. GWENT driver Leong Paul was jailed for 16 years at Canterbury Crown Court for smuggling 165kg of ecstasy tablets, with a street value of £2.44m, in his lorry Evidence was given that Paul, of Hatherleigh, Newport, had picked up the drugs from a service station near Antwerp on a return journey from Gottingen in Germany in April 2007 He was intercepted at Dover Eastern Docks. When questioned by customs officers, he claimed his load was empty racking. However a search of the vehicle revealed 11 boxes of ecstasy tablets at the front of the trailer.
Paul claimed to know nothing of the smuggling attempt when he was interviewed. He also claimed to have made a direct run from Gottingen and said he had not met anyone on the way. Analysis of the vehicle's tachograph records showed that 75km of his return trip had not been recorded between Genk and Ranst.