Man arrested and designer clothes seized

Officers who stopped a car with a crack in the windscreen arrested a man and seized cannabis and a huge quantity of designer clothes in Liverpool yesterday (Monday 22 January).

At around 4.20pm, officers saw a Ford Transit van on Lower House Lane with the damage to its windscreen, so stopped the vehicle.

When speaking to the driver, they noticed a smell of cannabis so he was detained and the van was searched.

The officers found two food bags containing cannabis in the glove compartment and a large quantity of designer clothes and trainers that are suspected to be stolen were found in the back of the vehicle. More brand new designer clothes were found during a search of an address connected to one of the driver.

A 55-year-old man from Anfield was arrested on suspicion of acquiring/using/possessing criminal property; being concerned in the supply of a Class B controlled drug (cannabis); possessing a Class B controlled drug (cannabis); and handling stolen goods.

The items are being examined to assess whether they are genuine or counterfeit.

Detective Inspector Chris Carlin said: “Thanks to the vigilance and alertness of officers, we have recovered a substantial quantity of designer clothes we believe to have been stolen as well as cannabis, and have a man in custody.

“This arrest and seizures show the value of proactive policing on the streets and roads in Merseyside.

“We will continue to proactively patrol as well as responding to reports of suspicious activity and items for sale suspected of being stolen.

“You can help us in our efforts to return property to rightful owners and bring to justice those offenders who have so little regard for others that they are prepared to steal to line their own pockets.”

“If you suspect burglary where you are, or are offered items for sale you suspect were stolen, you can pass information via our social media desk @MerPolCC on Twitter, 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.”

Advice on how to keep your home safe can be found here: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/residential-burglary/keep-your-home-safe/ and please follow our forcewide #OpCastle on social media for arrests, sentencings and advice about burglary.