Passenger keeps changing taxi route, then gives driver a $20 bill. But he gets driven straight to the police station instead
He kept changing their route, so the taxi driver gave him a different destination instead.
Drivers have their fair share of unexpected encounters with passengers, which can sometimes lead to situations where they require police to intervene. One taxi driver in Nottinghamshire, England, found themself in that predicament when they surprised a passenger by driving him to what was not his intended drop-off—the police station.
On Oct. 13, a 23-year-old man ordered a taxi ride from Nottingham Road at around 11:30pm. However, what should have been a simple journey soon turned suspicious when the passenger reportedly kept requesting the driver to change the route they were taking, according to Nottinghamshire Police.
The repeated route changes led the driver to question how the passenger intended to pay for the taxi fare. The passenger responded by handing over a £20 (around $27) bill, but the driver’s suspicion only grew, believing the bill was counterfeit because of the way it felt in his hands.
Police search taxi passenger’s home
The driver questioned the passenger about the authenticity of the bill he had just given, but the passenger reportedly gave the driver several more bills after the questioning. Only, the newly handed bills appeared to be fake as well, according to the driver.
Unlike cases where a driver unknowingly drops a passenger off at the wrong location, this driver chose to catch the passenger off guard by dropping him off right at the Radford Road Police Station’s doorstep instead. Officers immediately detained the passenger when the driver explained the situation.
Suspecting that the passenger may have more counterfeit money hidden, police issued a warrant to search his home. While officers didn’t find any other fake bills, they reportedly recovered a Rambo knife hidden under the 23-year-old’s mattress and a cannabis cultivation kit. The passenger was later arrested for possessing an offensive weapon on private property and on suspicion of using counterfeit currency.
Radford’s Neighborhood Inspector, Liz Gaskin, praised the taxi driver for noticing signs of possible illegal activity and taking swift action to bring the concern straight to the authorities. She added that officers discovering a weapon that was “out of circulation” also showed “concerning behavior.”
“This was a fantastic piece of work by a Nottingham taxi driver,” Gaskin said. “As soon as they noticed the man’s suspicious behavior in the back of the vehicle and saw that the money was fake, they decided the end of his journey would be a night in our custody.”
Officials advise double-checking a bill’s authenticity
BBC reported that Nottinghamshire Police also issued a warning earlier this year over concerns about increased reports of counterfeit money being circulated. Likewise, a similar warning was given by the Maine State Police in January, urging the public to remain vigilant about fake $20 and $100 bills that had been making their rounds across the state, per News Center.
The U.S. Currency Education Program advised individuals to always take a quick glance at the bills they’re handling. Dollar bills can easily be identified as fake if contains foreign writing, or words such as “replica” or “for motion picture use only.”
The best way to confirm a bill’s authenticity, however, is to assess several key security features. This includes feeling the paper’s texture, which should feel slightly rough; checking whether the lower-right numbers shift from copper to green, and seeing if the watermark and security thread are visible on both sides of the bill.
Meanwhile, using counterfeit money is a serious offense in the U.S., carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a substantial fine if convicted. States may also have their own laws regarding counterfeit currency and can impose additional penalties depending on the severity of the crime.
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