Eagle-eyed residents have helped officers to nab two men who had already undertaken a spate of alleged shop thefts earlier in the evening in Nottinghamshire.
The men, aged 35 and 42, have been arrested in connection with a chain of shop thefts across the county on 22 October.
Early reports from members of the public identified that there were three men running down the street, allegedly fleeing form one of their attempted shop robberies, discussing very loudly the need to conceal their alleged possession of a gun.
Working on this information, armed officers were deployed to the scene to try and track down their movements. Further reports of more attempted shop thefts were being received so officers quickly mobilised within the area to try and get ahead of the alleged armed thieves.
The incidents happened between 16:30 and 17:00 in separate shop locations in Huthwaite, West Bridgford and Sutton-in-Ashfield.
While officers were searching the area, two men matching the descriptions were then spotted on Westbourne Road by local response teams who quickly moved in to arrest both suspects.
Once arrested, one of the force’s police dogs and their handler picked up on one of the alleged offenders’ scent and located a jacket, which is understood to belong to the 35-year-old man, and a holdall, supposedly belonging to the 42-year-old man, that was stuffed full of unopened food items believed to be from the shops who had earlier reported the thefts.
The third man, who is alleged to be part of the gang, was not with them and hasn’t as yet been identified. Investigations are ongoing into the location and identity of the third man in connection with these robberies. No firearm was recovered by officers in relation to these incidents.
Detective Inspector Pam Dowson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said they are working closely with the shop owners to recover CTTV footage and gather further forensic evidence/
“We want to thank the public of Nottinghamshire for their invaluable help in locating and arresting two members of this gang who’ve allegedly attempted to steal from three separate local shops,” Dowson added.
“The collaboration with police, shop owners and the public has meant that we have successfully caught a gang that undoubtedly would have continued their spree.”
Anyone with any further information that can help the investigation has been urged to contact 101 quoting incident number 512 of 22 October.
