扒哥吃瓜

IN THE EASTERN TRAFFIC AREA

BRUNO BARATA t/a PREMIER VEHICLE TRANSPORT & RECOVERY - OF2081884

AND

THIJS BONTEKOE - FORMER TRANSPORT MANAGER

CONFIRMATION OF THE TRAFFIC COMMISSIONER鈥橲 DECISION

[TO BE REDACTED]

Background

Bruno Barata holds a Standard International Restricted Goods Vehicle Operator鈥檚 Licence authorising 3 vehicles and 2 trailers. Sofia Chopra has been the Transport Manager since 13 April 2026. Thijs Bontekoe was the Transport Manager from 24 December 2025 until 16 March 2026.

There is one Operating Centre at JMS Business Park, Northern Way, Bury St Edmunds IP32 6NL. Preventative Maintenance Inspections are said to be carried out by Chassis Cab Ltd, Guest Truck and Van, and RLA Commercials Ltd at 6-weekly intervals.

The application for this licence was lodged on 21 April 2025. It was granted on 24 December 2025, subject to an undertaking for a finance review, with financial evidence to be provided to the office in Leeds, no later than 15 April 2026.

Hearing

The Public Inquiry was listed for today, 2026, in Tribunal Room 1 of the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Cambridge. The operator was present, accompanied by his son (operations manager, and the current Transport Manager, Ms Chopra. At 8:29 this morning, my office received an email from Mr Bontekoe聽stating that he would be unable to attend the Public Inquiry and relaying his sincere apologies. He referred to significant personal issues REDACTED which prevented him from attending but he accepted the outcome Public Inquiry as with the criminal proceedings. I refer to his written representations below.

Issues

The public inquiry was called following notice that I was considering grounds to review grant of this licence under section 36 of the Goods Vehicle (Licensing of Operators) Act, and by reference to the following sections:

• 13A(2)(b) 鈥� Repute
• 13A(3) 鈥� Transport Manager meeting the requirements of Schedule 3.
• 13C(2) 鈥� arrangements for complying with drivers鈥� hours requirements.
• 13C(3) 鈥� arrangements to prevent overloading.
• 13C(4) 鈥� arrangements and facilities for maintaining vehicles

The operator was also put on notice of potential intervention in respect of the existing licence by reference to the following sections:

• 26(1)(h) 鈥� material change
• 27(1)(a) 鈥� repute and financial Standing
• 28 - Disqualification

Mr Bontekoe was also called to consider whether I should make a finding under section 27(1)(b) preventing him from relying on her Certificate of Professional Competence.

The operator was directed to lodge evidence in support including financial, maintenance and other compliance documentation by no later than 25 May 2026. My dip sampling of the records for GK68 HWR confirmed inspections being completed by RLA Commercials Ltd from December 2025. The digital records appeared complete with one brake performance test missed in February 2026 due to miscommunication about the loading of the vehicle. Oil leaks are being monitored and there appeared to be no other driver detectable defects at inspection.

Determination

Prior to grant, on 18 December 2025, a case note was added to the VOL record with information regarding the proposed Transport Manager, Thijs Bontekoe. This was not brought to the attention of the Commissioner who permitted grant, subject to the above undertaking.

Thijs Bontekoe holds a Standard International CPC issued on 23 January 2020. He had held the following appointments as Transport Manager:

• OF0223465 Veolia ES (UK) Ltd between May and October 2022
• OF2061424 Olaston Ltd between March and September 2023
• OF2022675 Spinners Transport Ltd between March 2023 and January 2024
• OF2014544 Challenge Logistics Ltd from October 2023 to December 2024
• OF1141868 D T M Logistics Ltd between January 聽and June 2025

He was named on new application, OF2085029 - Jewell Enterprises Ltd but that application was refused.聽 Jewell Enterprises Limited re-applied (OF2088208) for an operator licence with Thijs Bontekoe nominated to act as the Transport Manager, but no convictions were declared on the new application. The application was subsequently withdrawn.聽 聽

Thijs Bontekoe pleaded guilty to a fraud charge and was sentenced on 23 December 2025 to a 14-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, and 200 hours of unpaid voluntary work. My office was not notified of that conviction prior to the grant of this licence, or after.

However, Office of the Traffic Commissioner officials had apparently become aware of the charges during the processing of OF2085029. The East Anglian Daily Times reported on the sentence. Those details were not referred to the Traffic Commissioner in respect of this application.

Mr Barata was put on notice that I was considering whether to review that grant under cover dated 28 January 2026. That notice invited representations by no later than 11 February 2026.聽聽

A letter was also issued to Thijs Bontekoe on 7 February 2026, giving formal notice of the potential for disqualification and inviting him to make representations by 28 February 2026.

An email response was received on 12 February 2026 from Thijs Bontekoe, which and stated that it was a 鈥渃ombined response鈥�.聽 The email confirmed the hearing on 24 December 2025 and claimed that an email was sent on 25 December 2025 to advise me. No record of an email from Mr Bontekoe could be found and none was attached the email.

The VOL record indicates that Thijs Bontekoe was in communication with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, in regard to the application by this operator, on 24 December 2025. That communication contains no reference to the criminal proceedings. Mr Bontekoe had apparently pleaded guilty on 22 August 2025 but was adjourned for sentence on 23 December 2025.

Mr Bontekoe claimed that there had been no failure to declare these matters, but application OF2088208 was lodged by Jewell Enterprises Ltd on 6 January 2026, with no reference to the conviction. He requested the opportunity to attend this hearing.

Mr Barata鈥檚 response of 12 March 2026 stated that the communication from Mr Bontekoe purporting to be from both of them had not been authorised by the operator and he was unaware that the Transport Manager had given that response. He further stated that Mr Bontekoe contacted the operator immediately and to advise that the matter related to a speeding offence. The operator was under the impression that this was 鈥渁 minor motoring matter which he assured us he would deal with directly and he advised that it would not affect our operators license鈥�.聽 The email went on to states that over the past month the operator had attempted to contact Thijs Bontekoe repeatedly but was unable to make contact. Mr Barata requested the removal of Mr Bontekoe鈥檚 name from the licence and that the operator would shortly lodge an application to add a replacement Transport Manager.

Mr Bontekoe鈥檚 email accepted that he made a significant mistake leading to the conviction and the potential impact on his ability to rely on a Certificate of Professional Competence. He communicated his embarrassment and remorse but also sought to mitigate by referring to this as a single conviction and compared this with the provisions relating to mandatory loss of repute.聽He referred to the absence of other convictions. He claimed to have reported the conviction at the earliest possibility and to have fulfilled the obligations of a Transport Manager, with no adverse findings, even to describe his performance as exemplary. 聽聽

He referred to ongoing treatment, although no medical evidence was available to me. He asked that I take no action in respect of the operator and suggested that Mr Barata and his son Tiago are role models for relatively young companies, seeking to be compliant.

Mr Bontekoe had apparently pleaded guilty on 22 August 2025. It was only on 18 December 2025 that a case note was added to the VOL record with information regarding, Thijs Bontekoe. I am therefore satisfied that the conviction was not, as was suggested by Mr Bontekoe, notified promptly. The Office of the Traffic Commissioner failed to alert the Commissioner who permitted grant. I am satisfied that the licence would not have been granted, with section 13A(3) yet to be addressed. That said, I do not find it necessary to intervene in respect of this licence, following the appointment and acceptance from Ms Chopra from 13 April 2026. I refer to my observations of the compliance documentation, as above.

The press report of the conviction suggested that Mr Bontekoe was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation. He was said to have abused his position at an unnamed logistics company, by submitting fraudulent invoices for work which he had never completed. A total of 拢11,340 was paid to him before he was arrested in May 2025, having submitted invoices totalling 拢20,000. He put that operator and this one at risk. These are not the actions of a reputable Transport Manager. Whilst it may be unlikely that a compliant operator would wish to engage services from him during the period when his conviction is not spent, his failure to disclose relevant information promptly led me to conclude that deterrent action is required and in order to address the risk to compliant operators.

He had told this operator that it was a speeding conviction. He defrauded the unnamed operator, holding himself out as an effective Transport Manager, attempted to mislead this operator, was less than prompt in notifying my office, and then attempted to mislead me with correspondence which purported to be made with the authority of the operator. This was more than the single act claimed by the former Transport Manager. He displayed a lack of insight regarding the sustained periods of dishonesty. Whilst I took account of his current health issues, I found it necessary to make a formal direction under section 27(1)(b) and Schedule 3. By reference to the Senior Traffic Commissioner鈥檚 Statutory Document No. 10, I would have been entitled to conclude that this behaviour fell within a Severe category, but I drew back from an indefinite period. He is now disqualified from relying on his Certificate of Professional Competence for a period of 10 years, and even then, will be required to appear before a Traffic Commissioner were he to be nominated as a Transport Manager again.

R Turfitt

Traffic Commissioner

9 June 2026