Man caught dangerous driving had fake French driving licence

Noel Baker

A man caught driving dangerously by a Garda who happened to be travelling behind him on the way to work was in possession of a false French driving licence, having been duped into undertaking a fake drivers test in France.

Abdelhak Soussa had two children as rear seat passengers, only one of whom was wearing a seatbelt, when he was observed overtaking two cars ahead of a blind bend and over a continuous white line near Macroom at 6.40pm on May 10th, 2020.

The incident was observed by a Garda who was a passenger in the car directly behind Soussa’s vehicle. He had been on the way to work and contacted his colleagues who then intercepted Soussa’s car.

There were three backseat passengers, including Soussa’s wife, when the car was pulled over. At the time, Sousa told gardaí he had bought the car two weeks previously, and admitted the vehicle was not insured.

Judge James McNulty also heard the licence produced by Soussa was not valid. His solicitor, Killian McCarthy, told the court that his client, who is originally from Algeria, had been a refugee in France and had paid an Algerian support group “a hefty price” to get a driving test to secure a French driving licence.

However, Mr McCarthy said that in retrospect it did not appear that Soussa had sat a proper driving test, adding that his client had been “potentially naive”.

Mr McCarthy said Soussa had also been in the UK for a number of years where he had been the victim of a very serious assault and his brother was killed, prompting his family's move to Ireland.

Ms McCarthy said Soussa, who now lives in refugee accommodation at Riverside Park in Macroom, had shown a good work ethic and had been employed in construction and warehousing, adding he now works in Lidl.

The court heard that Soussa had seven previous convictions, including inciden for driving with no insurance which took place after the matter before the court.

Judge McNulty convicted Soussa and fined him €600.