Umeå police switch tactics against illegal taxi groups

Illegal taxi rides are advertised openly in large Umeå social-media groups, and police say a new evidence-led method is making the activity easier to investigate.

In one Umeå case, a driver in his 30s was convicted of illegal taxi traffic after two passengers said they would pay by Swish. He began deleting chat messages when police asked to see his phone. He denied the offence but received 50 day-fines and was ordered to pay nearly SEK 38,000 to the state and SEK 1,000 to the crime victim fund.

Police say riding in an illegal taxi is not itself a crime, but passengers may not know who is driving. Licensed taxi businesses check their drivers, while local Facebook ride groups can have thousands of members.

The newer method moves much of the work away from roadside stops. Officers monitor online groups, request bank records to trace Swish payments and interview suspected passengers. Johan Wåhlin of Police Region North told SVT the approach uses fewer resources and is more effective.

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