Pair arrested after gingerbread man air freshener helps police identify cloned vehicle

A distinctive gingerbread man air freshener helped police identify a cloned vehicle which led to two arrests and the seizure of a large amount of Class A drugs. 

Suspicions were initially aroused after roads policing officers spotted the driver of a Suzuki Swift who was on his phone, with their attention also drawn to the large air freshener displayed in the car’s front window. 

Inquiries revealed the car was displaying false plates and it was later spotted unattended outside flats in an area of Sutton-in-Ashfield believed to be linked to drug supply. 

Officers parked up, came up with a tactical plan to stop the car with suspects on board, and then waited to put their plans into action. 

A short time later, two men got in and the Suzuki was back on the move - but not for long. 

Seconds later, roads policing officers worked together to box the car in and bring it to a stop. 

The front seat passenger got out and ran off, while holding a bag, but was detained nearby by a plain clothes officer after a brief foot chase.

He was arrested after officers seized a bag of around 150 wraps of cocaine and heroin which he’d been carrying. 

The driver was also arrested at the scene and when officers searched the car they found a bag of tools in the boot.

The car was seized, and further searches were also carried out at an address in Sutton-in-Ashfield linked to one of the suspects. 

A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled Class A drug, namely crack cocaine, being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine, going equipped for theft, possession of an offensive weapon in a private place (a police-style baton), and possession of cannabis. He was also later reported for traffic offences. 

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin and possession of cannabis. 

The arrests, made on Friday 25 October, were thanks to a cracking team effort involving Nottinghamshire Police’s roads policing unit and county priority tasking team. 

PC Dean Fenton, of the county priority tasking team, said: “The gingerbread man air freshener in the car’s front window played a key part in helping us to identify that it was a cloned vehicle. It’s quite large, almost obstructing the driver’s view, so it just marked the car out for us perfectly. 

“We managed to locate it in an area linked to drug supply, firming up our suspicions, and everything pieced together from there. 

“It was a great all round team effort which enabled us to make these arrests and take a significant amount of Class A drugs out of circulation.

"This was just the latest example of our continuing work to target criminals using our roads and I hope it sends a powerful message to anyone travelling through Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas with the intent of committing crime that we will work relentlessly to track them down and they will be caught.”

Both suspects were subsequently released on conditional bail while officers continue with their inquiries.