A police dog sniffed out a suspect moments after a van containing suspected stolen alcohol had been brought to a halt by a tyre-piercing Stinger device.
The van was spotted travelling northbound on the M1 at around 2.20am on Friday (9 August) and was bought to halt a short time later with a pre-planned Stinger deployment.
Two suspects were seen to flee from the vehicle near Junction 27 and head in separate directions.
Police Dog Night – the force’s only general purpose female police dog – was led across the carriageway by her handler and very quickly located a suspect hiding in undergrowth.
The van, which is believed to have been stolen, was found to contain a large amount of whisky and other bottles of alcohol.
A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and theft from a motor vehicle.
He was later released on police bail as investigations continue.
PC Rachel Boulter, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“This a great bit of teamwork by everyone involved – including Police Dog Night and her handler. This vehicle was brought to a safe and controlled stop and a large amount of suspected stolen alcohol was recovered from inside.
“We are continually monitoring our motorway network and are always ready to target vehicles we believe are involved in criminality.
“Our police dogs are also never far away and can also be on the scene very quickly in order to search for and detain suspects.”
Mansfield 103.2 Afternoon News - 211124
