Harlow: Defective brake light leads to drugs being seized and an arrest

Defective brake light leads to drugs being seized and an arrest, thanks to alert Roads Policing Unit officers.

As part of routine patrols to keep our roads safe for everyone on Sunday 17 November, our Roads Policing Unit officers stopped a car shortly after noon due to a defective brake light.

As officers searched the car whilst stopped in Church Langley Way, Harlow, they located multiple deal bags of cannabis, cash and two mobile phones believed to be used in connection with drug dealing.

In total, 31 deal bags were seized, and tests will be carried out to determine the contents of some as it is believed they may be Class A drugs.

The sole occupant, a 28-year-old man from Ilford, East London, was arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to supply.

He was released on bail until 17 December whilst we continue to investigate.

Mr Adam Pipe, Head of Roads Policing said:
Thanks to the alertness of my officers, one traffic offence has led to the detection of drugs being seized and taken off our streets.
By patrolling the county’s roads, we are in a unique position to identify and detect offences that not only affect road safety, but where the criminal use of our roads transports drugs between locations.
We’ll continue to patrol our roads to prevent and detect crimes from taking place in Essex and making it a hostile place to deter those coming to Essex in the first place to sell drugs.

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Our Roads Policing Unit (RPU) provide a specialist response across our road network. Their expertise helps to keep our roads safe and traffic moving. They work to make sure those road users who put others at risk by speeding, driving dangerously or any other illegal behaviour, are held accountable for their actions. Our officers look for those using our roads to commit crime and disrupt criminal activity.

So that our officers can be even more effective on our roads, and better support the Strategic Road Network (SRN), our RPU based at Stanway, Colchester, have moved to our sites in Boreham and Thorpe-Le-Soken.

Our RPU will continue to operate 24/7 across the county. They will continue to work alongside officers and staff throughout Essex to help people and catch criminals. They will also continue to work to prevent and reduce road deaths and serious collisions on our roads.

In line with our Estates Strategy, the site at Stanway, which is not open to the public, will be sold. Funds will be reinvested into your police service.

This move does not affect the police teams who currently, and will continue to, work from Colchester Police Station. The sale of the Stanway site will not change local policing delivery or our visibility in our communities.