A machete and lock knife were retrieved by officers tasked with taking blades off the city’s streets.
The knife crime team sprang into action after spotting behaviour that aroused their suspicions near Nottingham city centre.
After seeing a suspect get into a taxi already containing two people, a plain-clothed officer made the decision to trail the vehicle for a short while.
When the rest of the specialist team caught up, the officers worked in tandem to bring the taxi to a stop as it made its way through Old Basford.
Believing the three people in the back of the vehicle could be carrying weapons, stop-and-searches were conducted at around 12:20pm on Tuesday (7 January).
These suspicions were quickly proven to be accurate, as a sheathed machete and a large lock knife were found and seized.
Three men, aged 19, 19, and 20, were all subsequently arrested on suspicion of possessing a bladed article in a public place.
PC Ken Tinley, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Stops like this are exactly what our knife crime team was set up to try and achieve.
“Let’s be clear – there is never an excuse to carry a machete, lock knife, or any other blade, for that matter, while out in a public setting.
“Doing this puts everyone in danger, including the person in possession of that weapon, which is an incredibly serious offence that will always be met with a robust police response.
“Our team goes out on daily patrols with a clear intention of targeting potential knife-carriers, bringing suspects into custody, and taking any weapons we find out of harm’s way.
“We were able to achieve all three in this instance – making three arrests in the process – so this proved to be a very successful job all round.”
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