A knifepoint robbery at a Colchester shop was swiftly dealt with after a police dog tracked the suspect from the scene, leading to an arrest.
The incident occurred on 25 March at a retail premises on London Road, Lexden. According to Essex Police, a man entered the shop shortly after 11:30am, threatened the cashier with a knife, and demanded cash from the till before fleeing with approximately £200.
Fortunately, the victim was unharmed and was receiving support. Officers responded quickly, taking a detailed description of the suspect before deploying Police Dog (PD) Pablo to track his movements. The highly trained dog led officers directly to a man who was subsequently stopped and arrested. A knife was also discovered nearby and has been seized as evidence.
A 44-year-old man was taken into custody on suspicion of robbery and remains under questioning. The investigation is now being led by Colchester CID.
“No one should face the threat of violence whilst simply going to work – and any report made to us concerning this will see a really robust response,” Detective Inspector Tim Coyles said.
“Officers got there very quickly after the report was made, which meant we were able to very quickly identify a person of interest and ultimately make a key arrest.”
Active police response was seen across the country in recent days , resulting in the arrest of suspected thieves targeting convenience stores.
