Man arrested ahead of suspected weapons exchange
During a search of the car, officers found three knives and a cosh-style weapon
A man was arrested and three knives and a cosh seized after armed police stopped a car in Colchester.
The enforced stop took place after police received reports of a weapons exchange taking place in the Greenstead area of the city.
A car of interest was then quickly identified and armed officers were able to isolate it in Bromley Road and safely stop it.
Once the car was stopped, a man aged in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.
During a search of the car, officers found three knives and a cosh-style weapon.
Further checks on the man suggested he had been disqualified from driving and was driving without insurance. He was arrested on suspicion of both offences.
He remains in custody for questioning and the investigation around him continues.
Adam Pipe, the operational policing command, said: “First and foremost I’d like to extend my thanks to the person who reported the initial suspicious activity to us. The public are our eyes and ears, and we can only police with consent when the public trust us with information.
“The speed at which this vehicle was identified and the urgency shown by the armed officers to get behind it as quickly as possible shows the commitment we have across the force to tackle those people we believe to be committing or facilitating the most harmful offences.”
Mr Pipe added: “We also have information to suggest the man was driving whilst disqualified and without insurance. Whilst the public may not see this as hugely significant, it shows – as we’ve said many times – that criminal use of the road is very often linked to wider offending and that’s why we value the work of our road crime officers highly.”