A Neasden man has been handed a suspended prison sentence after he was caught red-handed trying to cheat his way through a driving theory test in Ilford.
Mohammed Hajiloe, aged 50, of Lansdowne Road, was sentenced at Willesden Magistrates Court for possession of an article for use in fraud on Tuesday, January 8.
On September 25 2017, Hajiloe smuggled a Bluetooth earpiece into the DSA Theory Test Centre in Ilford High Road, intending to use it to receive answers to pass his Driver Theory Test.
The device had even been modified to remove the distinctive blue light that normally flashes when Bluetooth devices are in use, in an effort to make it even harder to spot.
Hajiloe was caught on CCTV removing the earpiece from his trousers and placing it under the earphones he was already wearing to take the test.
The would-be cheat was spotted doing this by test centre staff, who stopped the test and referred the matter to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Counter Fraud and Investigation Team.
Hajiloe pleaded not guilty and the case went to trial. On November 18 last year a jury found him guilty.
He was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for a year, and had an eight-week curfew imposed upon him forcing him to remain at home between the hours of 9pm and 5am.
He was also ordered to pay the DVSA £1,000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £115.
The DVSA’s head of counter-fraud and investigation, Andy Rice, said: “The DVSA’s priority is to protect you from unsafe drivers and vehicles.
“The theory test is vital to make sure candidates have the knowledge and attitude to drive safely and responsibly, as well as making sure they know the theory behind safe driving.
“The DVSA will take the strongest possible action against anyone caught cheating the theory test.”
A DVSA spokesman also revealed the organisation investigated 483 cases of suspected Bluetooth cheating from April 1 to the end of last year.
Many of those investigations remain ongoing, with 113 already referred to the Crown Prosecution Service.
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