A 51-year-old man who posed as a taxi driver to abduct a vulnerable woman after a night out has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the United Kingdom.

Kuldip Chahal was jailed on July 10 after being found guilty of kidnapping a young woman he targeted in Newcastle city centre in the early hours of December 21, 2025.

CCTV footage captured the chilling moment Chahal approached the woman, who had become separated from her friends and was waiting for a taxi at about 2:20 a.m. The footage showed him helping her up from the ground, placing an arm around her and leading her towards his white Volkswagen Golf parked several minutes away.

He was then seen placing the woman in the front passenger seat before attempting to drive away. However, police officers monitoring the city's CCTV network noticed his suspicious behaviour and directed officers on patrol to intercept the vehicle before it left the scene.

Following a week-long trial at Newcastle Crown Court in May, Chahal was convicted of kidnapping. In addition to his seven-year prison sentence, he will remain on an extended licence for three years after his release and has been made subject to a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

In a victim impact statement presented in court, the woman described how the incident had completely changed her life.

She said she had been a confident and sociable person before the attack but now struggles with anxiety and no longer feels safe in situations she once considered normal.

"The hardest part is knowing that I was vulnerable and someone chose to take advantage of that," she said, adding that she felt she had been viewed "as an opportunity" rather than as a person.

She also said the trauma has robbed her of her confidence, caused her to miss important moments with friends and left her constantly questioning her safety.

Detective Constable Courtney Cran, who led the investigation, praised the victim for her courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings.

She described Chahal as a "predatory individual" who deliberately targeted a lone and vulnerable young woman who was simply trying to get home safely after a night out.

According to the detective, Chahal repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, forcing the victim to relive her ordeal during the trial. However, investigators were able to gather compelling evidence that exposed his actions and secured his conviction.

Police said Chahal was unknowingly being monitored as part of Operation Salus, a Northumbria Police initiative that uses CCTV and patrol officers to identify and protect vulnerable people during the night.

Officers observing the CCTV footage became concerned by his behaviour and intervened before he could leave with the woman, preventing what police described as a potentially far more serious crime.