Nottinghamshire Police recover imitation handgun and large sum of cash from taxi passenger

Nottinghamshire Police recovered a large amount of cash and a suspected imitation handgun after pulling over a taxi and searching its passenger.

Officers from the Ashfield Operation Reacher team pulled the vehicle over in Leamington Drive, Sutton-in-Ashfield, shortly before 10am this morning.

The passenger was found to be in possession of a small amount of cannabis and was subsequently searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

A significant quantity of cash was also seized.

A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm and possessing a Class B drug. He remains in police custody.

PC Jade Massey, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We had reason to believe that the passenger in this taxi may have been in possession of illegal items.

“Weapons of this nature may not be genuine firearms, but they can still cause significant injury, alarm and distress to members of the public who are not trained to know the difference.

“I am pleased we have been able to make an arrest and hope today’s stop serves as a warning to others.”