HUNTINGTON PARK : Latest ‘Bandit’ Taxi Sting Nets 9 Suspects

Nine suspected bandit cabdrivers were arrested last weekend in the latest police sting operation aimed at cracking down on the illegal operation of taxis in the city.

“I’m encouraged, even though we (arrested) more than we thought we would,” said Sgt. Desmond Fitzgerald, traffic supervisor for the Police Department.

The suspects were arrested between 7 p.m. Oct. 2 and 2:30 a.m. Oct. 3 after they picked up undercover officers posing as riders at Gage and State streets and Florence Avenue and Pacific Boulevard. Police impounded the suspects’ cars and arrested the drivers on suspicion of operating a taxi business without a license and other violations, Fitzgerald said.

Police discovered one suspect driving with a suspended driver’s license. Another driver was turned over to Los Angeles police because he had $10,000 in outstanding warrants, Fitzgerald said.

The drivers face a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and six months in County Jail.

The operation is the second bandit-cab sting in less than three months. An operation in July resulted in 14 arrests, Fitzgerald said, adding that fewer arrests in the latest sweep demonstrate that the crackdown has been successful.