Police seize weapons, drugs and arrest suspects in Staffordshire and Essex

In Tamworth, Staffordshire, officers searched a car in Stonydelph and a house in Coton Green after a tipoff about drug dealing. They seized cannabis, cash, a stun gun, a machete and a samurai‑style sword. Two men, aged 24 and 39, were arrested on suspicion of supplying a class A drug, possessing an offensive weapon and other offences; both remain in custody.

In Essex, police intercepted a stolen Hyundai on the A12 near Boreham. Driver Tony Powell, 44, was found with a handgun and five live rounds. Powell, who has previous theft and firearm convictions, was linked to a gang that robbed cash‑in‑transit vans. He was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court to six years’ imprisonment with a subsequent four‑year licence period.