Portugese driving licence was a fake

Fidalgo Jair Veiga, Carleton Street, Portadown, was fined £100 for possession of a false identity document on November 24 last year and £100 for making a false declaration to obtain insurance.

For not having insurance on the same date he was fined £200 and given six points. He was also ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy.

The court heard that at 1.45am police stopped a man driving a car in Woodhouse Street in Portadown.

The defendant walked over to them, admitted he owned and insured the vehicle and had given him permission to drive.

He produced a Portuguese licence and insurance but police believed that the licence was a fake. An expert witness confirmed that the licence was false.

Veiga denied this saying that he had completed a driving test in Portugal and that the licence was real. He had applied for insurance thinking the licence was genuine.

A solicitor representing the defendant said he was not in a position to produce any documents to prove the licence was real.

He added that he would have to rely on his wife and friends to get him to work.