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Saanich Police arrest suspended driver with laminated paper licence plates

Fake plates crafted of laminated paper
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The traffic division of Saanich Police seized this fake plate from a vehicle without insurance, whose driver was violating his driving prohibition. Saanich Police/Twitter

Call it a case of eagle-eyed justice.

Saanich Police Tuesday arrested a 33-year-old Victoria man prohibited from driving after Const. Paul Egli found fake licence plates made out of paper on the man’s uninsured vehicle.

Egli pulled the grey Audi A4 over in the 3800 block of Quadra Street at about 2 p.m. while on patrol, said Sgt. Julie Fast of the Saanich Police.

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She said a thick plastic cover over the rear licence plate made it “very difficult” for Egli to read the plate, leaving him wondering whether the vehicle had proper insurance.

Egli then discovered the driver’s vehicle prohibition, the lack of insurance, and the fake licence plates made out of laminated pieces of paper.

“As a result, the vehicle was towed and impounded for [seven] days, the driver was issued a $707 ticket for having a plastic cover over his plate and for having no insurance, and he was then arrested for prohibited driving and for altering a licence plate,” said Fast.

Fast called the results of this vehicle “surprising,” but indicative.

“This is a great example of the work our Traffic Safety Unit does on a daily basis to help keep our roads safe and to hold drivers accountable for their actions,” she said.


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Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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