AN ALBURY pub has been left out of pocket by raids on a bus company that allegedly used fake number plates to keep its fleet on the road.
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Police raided Dee Decker tours in Melbourne on Thursday.
An inspection showed 16 buses were defective, which followed an inspection in February which found 11 unroadworthy buses, eight of which had major defects.
A company representative was arrested at the scene.
Zed Bar owner Brian Greenfell had paid a deposit for one of the buses to transport patrons to and from the Gold Cup, and learnt of the issue on the news.
“It’s been a little bit hectic overnight,” he said on Friday.
“It came as a shock to me.
“We had to source another one from Melbourne.”
A VicRoads spokesman said the Dee Decker Tours was “one of the worst of the worst”.
"It's only by good luck rather than good management that nothing has gone wrong and there weren't any serious injuries or even a death,” they said.
Mr Greenfell said another company had supplied a bus to transport patrons.
“It’s race day now and we’re away, and that’s all that matters,” he said.