Triple win for knife crime team following car stop in Sutton

Hundreds of wraps of Class A drugs, a set of nunchucks and a sword were among the items seized following one car stop.

The county knife crime team went on to make the discoveries after spotting some suspicious behaviour while on patrol in Sutton-in-Ashfield.

Believing this could be linked to drug dealing in the area, officers started looking around Langton Road where they saw a vehicle that aroused their suspicions further.

Following that initial sighting at around 5.15pm on Saturday (21 October), the team then followed the car before stopping it a few minutes later in nearby Corene Avenue.

At that point, a search was carried out of the vehicle, which led to a set of nunchucks being seized – although officers continued to suspect drugs could still be involved.   

Two suspects were then brought into custody to be further searched, with this resulting in a bag containing around 300 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine being recovered by police.

Following this discovery, the team continued with their investigation by executing a warrant at a linked address in Huthwaite, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

This search would also prove to be a fruitful one, with officers recovering quantities of cash, as well as a large sword from inside the premises. 

Such swords are among a range of different offensive weapons, including zombie knives, knuckledusters, and throwing stars, that it is now illegal to keep in a private setting anywhere the UK.

Two suspects – a 26-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man – went on to be arrested for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and possession of an offensive weapon in a private place.

Sergeant Jonny Groves, of Nottinghamshire Police’s county knife crime team, said:

“This was a great result that perfectly encapsulates the work we’re trying to do as a knife crime team, as well as the importance of the patrols we carry out each day.

“Thanks to the freedom we’re given as a team to go out on mobile patrol within the community, we were able to be in a position to spot suspicious activity that might have otherwise not been reported and then follow this up ourselves.  

“From our experience, we know weapon-enabled crime does often go hand in hand with drug activity, with people who deal drugs tending to have knives or other weapons in their possession that they really shouldn’t.

“That’s why we regularly look to target those people that intelligence suggests could be involved in the supply of drugs.

“On this occasion, we managed to achieve a triple win in that we were able to seize large quantities of drugs and a set of nunchucks following that initial car stop, before later seizing an illegal offensive weapon from a house as well.

“The legislation banning the keeping of weapons like large swords in a private setting has been in place for some time now, so there really is no excuse for people to claim ignorance anymore.

“We would urge anyone who has these types of weapons in their home to contact the police or deposit them into one of the knife amnesty bins set up in police stations across the city and county.   

“Our inquiries are still ongoing following this double arrest, so we’d ask anyone with any information relating to this incident to call the police on 101, quoting incident 513 of 21 October 2023, or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”