Man arrested on suspicion of drug dealing and shoplifting

A man was swiftly arrested for suspected drug dealing and shoplifting offences in Evesham town centre yesterday evening (Wednesday 22 October).

PC Adam Johns and PC Matt Beard were conducting a hot spot patrol in the town centre at around 5pm when a local store informed them a shoplifter had targeted their premises.

Within minutes, the two town centre team officers apprehended a 51-year-old suspect and arrested him on suspicion of committing the theft.

Next, a search of the man was carried out where they discovered he had 50 wraps of suspected class A drugs on him – half suspected to be heroin and half suspected to be crack cocaine.

They also recovered some of the stolen items and other suspected stolen items from other shoplifting incidents.

The man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs – crack cocaine and heroin and six counts of theft from store. He is currently in police custody helping with our enquiries.

Police Sergeant Duncan Eades of Evesham town centre team said: “This was a good and swift arrest by two PCs on the beat doing a hot spot patrol around the town.

“They quickly acted on information given to us by our business community to apprehend and arrest the shoplifting suspect, furthermore, finding the suspected class A drugs which are now off the streets too. The suspect is now in police custody.

“This result shows the importance of officers in Evesham having a good working relationship with our local businesses who helped us identify and locate him and we thank them for their ongoing support.”