Five teenagers were arrested after a member of the public spotted a group with a machete in Nottingham city centre.
A 999 caller reported seeing the group pull the weapon from a bush at a skate park in Sussex Street shortly before 9.30pm on Saturday (10 August).
Officers attended and located five suspects. Three were detained at the scene while two others were detained a short time later after a foot chase through the Lace Market area.
One of the fleeing suspects was found on a garage roof in Cliff Road and the other was detained after a police dog found him hiding in a garden in Shortwood Close.
The skate park area was searched and officers found wraps of suspected cocaine and a machete.
The five males – aged 15, 17, 18, 18 and 18 – were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
One of the 18-year-olds was further arrested for breaching court bail conditions which banned him from entering Nottingham city centre. He is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court today (12 August) in relation to the breach.
All five males were bailed with conditions while further investigation work is carried out into the recovery of the machete and suspected Class A drugs.
PC Oliver Grosvenor, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“This was an excellent bit of police work. By acting quickly on intelligence, officers were able to locate and detain five teenagers on suspicion of dealing hard drugs.
“In addition to that, they also seized a dangerous weapon.
“Drugs and weapons cause untold misery in local communities and I hope this action serves as a clear message that we will not tolerate this sort of criminal behaviour in Nottingham.
“I would like to thank the member of the public who alerted us to this matter so that we could respond as part of our ongoing work to keep communities safe.”
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