Posted on the 15th July 2026 in PHTM News
FAKE TAXI DRIVER JAILED FOR SEVEN YEARS AFTER KIDNAPPING WOMAN ON NEWCASTLE NIGHT OUT
Kuldip Chahal, 51, has been sentenced to seven years in prison after posing as a taxi driver to kidnap a vulnerable woman in Newcastle city centre.
The victim had been on a night out with friends in the Groat Market area when she went outside to look for her booked taxi at around 2:20 am.
Chahal, from Blyth, approached the woman, picked her up from the ground, and guided her through the crowded streets for ten minutes to his parked car on Fenkle Street. He then forced her into the front passenger seat, telling her he was taking her home.
Unbeknown to Chahal, police officers working under "Operation Salus" - an initiative focused on safeguarding people in the night-time economy - were already watching him. Officers intervened and stopped the vehicle before he could drive away.
They arrested Chahal after discovering the victim did not know him. A subsequent investigation revealed Chahal was not a licensed taxi driver and had approached several other women that night.
Chahal denied the kidnap charge but was found guilty following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Alongside his seven-year prison sentence, he was handed a three-year extended licence period and a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
In an impact statement read to the court, the victim shared how the ordeal shattered her confidence and sense of safety. "I was a young woman trying to get home after a night out with friends," she said. "Instead, I became the target of a man more than twice my age who saw my vulnerability and chose to exploit it. I was not seen as a person. I was seen as an opportunity."
Detective Constable Courtney Cran praised the victim's "immense bravery, resilience, and composure" throughout the trial.
Describing Chahal as a "predatory individual," Cran credited the quick intervention of the officers on patrol. "Thanks to the vigilance of officers that evening, who saw something was not quite right, they were quickly able to intervene and bring Chahal to a stop," Cran said, adding that the force will continue to target unlicensed and fake taxi drivers to keep people safe.
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