Two men have been arrested and drugs and a firearm were removed from the streets of London after a proactive vehicle stop in east London.
At around 14:43hrs on Thursday, 21 September, officers from the East Area Violence Suppression Unit were conducting patrols in unmarked vehicles when they came across a car parked up in York Road, Ilford.
An officer believed she could see two occupants smoking cannabis inside and turned their car to go and speak to them. At this point the car spotted the unmarked vehicle and drove off before coming to a stop in a car park in Trevor Roper Close.
Officers approached the vehicle and following a search of one of the men a quantity of cannabis was found.
They then set about searching the vehicle, discovering 17 bags of cannabis and a small black handgun in the glovebox.
It was seized and taken for specialist analysis.
Both suspects were promptly arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and possession with intent to supply class B drugs. One of the males was further arrested on suspicion of driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.
Both were taken into custody. One of the males was released on bail. The other was released on bail but charged and remanded in custody for the driving offences.
Detective Superintendent Richard Vandenbergh said: “We know all too well that drugs are inextricably linked to violence in our communities.
“The work of my officers here is yet more proof that we are doing everything we can to tackle serious violence. I have no doubt that thanks to their tenacity and hard work that London is safer as a result. We are rightly very proud of them.”
