Authorities raid Uber on organized crime suspicions

The Public Prosecutor in the Netherlands ordered a raid on the Dutch offices of taxi and ride share company Uber. The firm is being investigated as an organized criminal enterprise over its continued use of the alternative taxi service UberPOP. The company is suspected of violating national laws governing the transportation of people in an organised service, enacted in 2001, according to RTL Z. UberPOP enables anyone with a car to operate as a taxi by sidestepping licensing procedures or commercial vehicle mechanical regulations. It is not the first time the company’s offices were raided. The Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) temporarily shut Uber’s Amsterdam offices in a separate investigation into abuses of the same law. One person was arrested at the company's headquarters, which was under suspicion of dodging sales tax charges. To date, ILT has fined Uber 450 thousand euros over the UberPOP service, the broadcaster noted. The company operates in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht