After receiving information that drug activity was occurring in the Mansfield area, plain-clothed officers were dispatched.
Officers from the county knife crime team were patrolling when they spotted Lester Moore, who was wanted for a series of shop thefts.
During June and July 2022, the 43-year-old targeted the same B&M store on Station Road in Sutton in Ashfield three times, stealing cameras and cleaning supplies.
Officers were able to follow Moore because they were not in uniform before approaching him and conducting a surprise stop and search in St John Street, Mansfield, on Tuesday (19 July).
Moore was found with a lock knife in his pocket, and a subsequent search in custody resulted in the discovery of crack cocaine and heroin in his possession.
Moore was charged with three counts of theft, Class A drug possession, and bladed article possession.
Moore, of St John Street, Mansfield, appeared in Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, July 20, and pleaded guilty to the charges.
He was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for a year, and ordered to pay £80 in damages.
This was a fantastic example of our teams using some of the different tactics available to us to proactively target offenders and take them off our streets,” said Sergeant Jonny Groves of Nottinghamshire Police’s county knife crime team.
“This is just one of the effective methods our knife crime teams use to target those who pose a serious risk to our communities.”
“After receiving information that Moore had committed a string of shopliftings in the area, our plain-clothes officers were able to approach and quickly detain him, which we would have struggled to do otherwise.”
Thanks to some outstanding police work, we were able to bring a known offender to justice while also removing some Class A drugs from circulation and seizing a potentially dangerous weapon.
“It should go without saying, but carrying knives on our streets will never be tolerated, and offenders will always face consequences.”
“Tackling knife crime and drug offences, which frequently go hand in hand, are top priorities for our team, and we will continue to use patrols to keep people safe, as we have done in this case.”
