ORLANDO, Fla. – Who are you really riding with when you order a cut-rate driver to pick you up at the airport?

How would you react if the discount driver you hired at Orlando International Airport (MCO) got out of his car curbside and left his gun on the seat or floorboard?

News 6 got an eye-opening look through the lens of a police body camera showing officers’ surprise and concern when they spotted a gun in a vehicle at MCO during a sting operation.

Orlando police have been cracking down on illegal drivers who are not properly permitted or vetted, ultimately to ensure your safety as a rider.

News 6 first exposed the issue in September.

[VIDEO BELOW: Know your risks]

Unregistered, unpermitted and/or uninsured drivers continue to offer unauthorized rides to unsuspecting passengers at largely discounted rates.

Police body camera video from February 25 showed an encounter with an unpermitted driver at Terminal C.

“You’re not operating as an Uber,” the officer told the driver. “You have to be permitted [by the city of Orlando] to pick up.”

When officers asked the driver to step out of the car, they noticed a gun inside the car and swiftly grabbed his shirt and pulled him away from the car.

“There’s a gun in the car!” the officer said as he pointed to the driver’s seat. “Gun in the car!”

Another officer asked the driver if the gun was loaded.

“Is there one [bullet] in the chamber currently?” the officer asked. “Is there one inside the chamber currently?”

“Yes,” the driver replied.

The driver showed officers a concealed weapons permit, which legally allowed him to carry the firearm in the car — even on him while driving, according to Florida Statute 790.25, entitled “Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms and other weapons.”

After officers verified the validity of the permit, they returned the driver’s gun, bullets and magazines to him before they ticketed him and towed his car.

“Sir, this is a citation for not having a vehicle permit on your car,” the officer said. “I don’t want to be disrespectful, (but) ignorance of the law is not a defense. Ignorance of the rules isn’t a defense.”

The driver was also trespassed from MCO for a year.

“So this is going to pertain to all airport property, so if you are caught on airport property, period, they have the right to prosecute and press charges,” the officer said. “It’s your responsibility to know what you have to have to operate.”

City of Orlando vehicle-for-hire regulations do not regulate possession or storage of firearms in vehicles by vehicle-for-hire operators (drivers).

But the drivers themselves and their vehicles are regulated.

Properly permitted vehicle-for-hire operators of taxis, shuttles, limos and bus drivers registered with the city of Orlando and MCO are background-checked, have passed vehicle safety inspections and must carry extensive commercial liability insurance to protect riders.

Police have started checking on the unpermitted drivers because, in many cases, no one else was, attempting to motivate illegal drivers with tickets and towings to properly register with the city of Orlando.

Since News 6 first reported on the issue in September, police have handed out more than 60 tickets to illegal drivers.

[VIDEO BELOW: Police crack down on drivers at MCO]

In another encounter at MCO in February, Orlando police cited driver Kevon Tuckett for not registering as a driver or his vehicle with the city of Orlando.

Tuckett’s Orange County Clerk of Court file shows 39 cases of traffic violations since 2014 — tickets for red-light running, speeding, toll violations — including a no-contest plea to driving with a suspended license in 2021.

Uber and Lyft drivers are exempt from city of Orlando registration requirements. Ride-share drivers are insured, vetted and registered by their ride-share operator.

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