Overview
- Officers intervened as Kuldip Chahal guided a heavily intoxicated woman toward and into his car in Newcastle city centre after a night out, with the incident occurring in the early hours of December 21, 2025.
- Plain-clothes and uniformed officers working on Operation Salus, who were monitoring live CCTV, stopped Chahal’s car on Fenkle Street and arrested him at the scene, safeguarding the victim.
- CCTV and police enquiries showed Chahal was not a licensed taxi driver, captured him picking the woman up from the ground, and established he had approached other women earlier that night.
- A jury convicted Chahal at a week-long trial in May and Newcastle Crown Court on July 9, 2026 sentenced him to seven years in prison with a three-year extended licence and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting contact with intoxicated or lone females in his car.
- The victim’s court statement described lasting loss of confidence and anxiety about going out, and police said the case supports continued targeted night-time patrols and public warnings about fake or unlicensed taxi approaches.