Praise for bobby after £200k find

Detectives discovered a £200,000 haul of cash and drugs after officers pulled over a car in Blackpool town centre.

A ‘quantity’ of suspected cocaine and cannabis was found in the Peugeot 3008, which was stopped in Cookson Street after a patrolling officer reported seeing suspicious activity.

Drugs raids later carried out at two homes in Thornton and central Blackpool turned up £100,000 at each, police said.

A 73-year-old man, his 38-year-old son, and a 25-year-old man were arrested on drugs and money laundering offences and spent yesterday being questioned.

Sgt Adam Leigh from Blackpool CID said: “It was excellent proactive police work by an on-duty officer.

“If we have information or see an opportunity to act, we do, and we take it very seriously.”

Suspicions

The bust was not as the result of ongoing surveillance or intelligence, Sgt Leigh said, but because the officer reported what he saw – although detectives remained tight-lipped on what aroused suspicions.

The Peugeot – which was being driven by the 38-year-old – was pulled over at around 6pm on Wednesday, a ‘short time’ after first being spotted.

Both the driver and his 25-year-old passenger were arrested at the scene on suspicion of possessing cannabis, supplying cocaine, and money laundering.

The 73-year-old was later arrested on suspicion of supplying cocaine and money laundering when officers executed a drugs warrant at the address in central Blackpool.

Searches were carried out onTuesday and Wednesday, it is understood. Police would not say where exactly they were conducted.

A police spokesman added: “It’s fair to say we were following enquiries as a result of a spontaneous incident earlier that day. It was not as a result of a pre-planned operation.

“An officer saw some suspicious activity around that vehicle which led him to believe it was involved in the supply of drugs.”