UPDATED: Armed police find drugs and gun at hotel (From Thisisdorset)
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UPDATED: Armed police find drugs and gun at hotel
12:50pm Monday 22nd October 2012 in Latest By Steven Smith
Armed police storm hotel over "drugs and gun" claim
ARMED police who made a dramatic raid on a Bournemouth hotel found a gun, drugs and cash, police confirmed on Monday lunchtime.
The Daily Echo exclusively revealed the find on Monday morning.
The incident on Saturday afternoon brought St Michael’s Road on the West Cliff to a halt, with dozens of onlookers watching the drama unfold.
Yesterday, an unnamed worker at the hotel told the Daily Echo: “It was two men.
“There was a gun on the bed with about 20 rounds of ammunition.
“There was a large amount of cocaine – in the kilogramme range.”
He said the gun found was a pistol and a large amount of cash was also there.
“It was pretty crazy and the men are still at large,” he added.
At the height of the incident, which began at about 2pm, around a half a dozen police cars, officers carrying guns and police dogs were on the scene. An ambulance crew was also on standby and the police helicopter circled above.
Police confirmed on Monday that a gun, drugs and cash were found at the hotel. No arrests have yet been made.
A spokesman added: "Enquiries are at an early stage and as yet no one has been arrested. Witnesses or anyone with information are asked to contact Dorset Police in the strictest confidence on 101 quoting incident number 20:267. There is no further information at this time."
Officers remained on the scene into Saturday evening.
Poole Hill Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator, Norman Decent told the Daily Echo: “We’re trying to better the area and this isn’t good news.”
Residents and guests of the many hotels in St Michael’s Road watched for hours as armed police remained on guard outside St Mick’s Bar, which is part of the St Michael’s Hotel building.
Watching the drama unfold, Attila Tasi, who lives near the hotel, said: “We live on the corner and the officers with their helmets and everything came along and now we can’t go home.
“I’ve never seen anything like this down here before.”
One neighbour added: “We’ve never seen anything on this scale with Armed Response Units.”
As the afternoon went on, it appeared that the investigation was focusing on a first floor room, as camera flashes could be seen from outside.
Residents of the hotel were allowed to come and go, but those approached by the Daily Echo declined to comment.
The Daily Echo made attempts to contact hotel management yesterday in person and on the phone but did not receive a response.
Comments(43)
Arthur Maureen
says...
9:14am Mon 22 Oct 12
simcal
says...
9:30am Mon 22 Oct 12
thevisitor wrote:They could have removed the gun and a few plain clothes officers could have just kept an eye on the place. Perhaps I'm missing something but that would seem like common sense to me. The Somalis in Boscombe always manage to evade the drug squad as well. They even call themselves the "A Team".
So the Police decided not to wait discreetly for the offenders to return!!! No wonder they are still at large, they are hardly likely to return to their room with all that malarky going on are they
Controversial But True
says...
10:03am Mon 22 Oct 12
This was handed to them on a plate and still they didn't make any arrests!!
Makes you feel safe doesn't it?
Now this government of numb nuts are making hundreds of police cuts, this just will just get worse!
grazzer
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10:21am Mon 22 Oct 12
Graham Cribb
grazzer
says...
10:26am Mon 22 Oct 12
Graham Cribb
ajj-dorset
says...
10:40am Mon 22 Oct 12
Once they are in place then the area is made safe. If the criminals are outside and see the police arrival, of course they will "disappear".
I suspect some people watch to many American Cop shows?
HRH of Boscombe
says...
11:14am Mon 22 Oct 12
simcal wrote:Yes it doesn't seem to have been very well thought out.
thevisitor wrote: So the Police decided not to wait discreetly for the offenders to return!!! No wonder they are still at large, they are hardly likely to return to their room with all that malarky going on are theyThey could have removed the gun and a few plain clothes officers could have just kept an eye on the place. Perhaps I'm missing something but that would seem like common sense to me. The Somalis in Boscombe always manage to evade the drug squad as well. They even call themselves the "A Team".
allornothing
says...
11:18am Mon 22 Oct 12
ajj-dorset wrote:Finally someone with some common sense!
Some people are being a little harsh, the first reaction by Police to reports of guns, should quite rightly be to send in armed officers.
Once they are in place then the area is made safe. If the criminals are outside and see the police arrival, of course they will "disappear".
I suspect some people watch to many American Cop shows?
Old Colonial
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11:29am Mon 22 Oct 12
bmthlad69
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12:00pm Mon 22 Oct 12
But no they let them run away. What plonkers...
HRH of Boscombe
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12:07pm Mon 22 Oct 12
ajj-dorset wrote:I think Dorset Police have watched too much American Cop TV. Every squad car and all guns blazing.
Some people are being a little harsh, the first reaction by Police to reports of guns, should quite rightly be to send in armed officers. Once they are in place then the area is made safe. If the criminals are outside and see the police arrival, of course they will "disappear". I suspect some people watch to many American Cop shows?
.
Sounds like they were found by a member of staff there. A more covert operation might have trapped the suspects.
ajj-dorset
says...
12:30pm Mon 22 Oct 12
HRH of Boscombe wrote:Have you been living in a bubble, 2 police women were killed in Manchester a few weeks ago!
ajj-dorset wrote:I think Dorset Police have watched too much American Cop TV. Every squad car and all guns blazing.
Some people are being a little harsh, the first reaction by Police to reports of guns, should quite rightly be to send in armed officers. Once they are in place then the area is made safe. If the criminals are outside and see the police arrival, of course they will "disappear". I suspect some people watch to many American Cop shows?
.
Sounds like they were found by a member of staff there. A more covert operation might have trapped the suspects.
Bringing in enough armed police is an operational decision i would leave to the trained professionals on the ground. Who is to know if the criminals were wandering about armed and ready to shoot? Better to have too many police there than not enough.
Letcommonsenseprevail
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12:34pm Mon 22 Oct 12
ASM
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1:43pm Mon 22 Oct 12
It is common local knowledge who the scum bags are in the area and that they are selling drugs all over the place. why can't they just raid their homes? get them to give evidence against the other scum bags or give them severe prison sentences
bornINpoole69
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1:52pm Mon 22 Oct 12
bogtrotter
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1:53pm Mon 22 Oct 12
pete woodley
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1:54pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Ian_Steel
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2:28pm Mon 22 Oct 12
bornINpoole69 wrote:At least one in the photo has their arms crossed!!
Great photo and caption. "Police stormed the building" - have you ever seen such bored looking people?
HRH of Boscombe
says...
2:39pm Mon 22 Oct 12
ajj-dorset wrote:Grow up you mug. No I lived in East London for about 8 years until recently. Hackney then Newham to be precise to be able to keep my Bmth home. There's no bubble, if you got London tonight instead of Meridian tonight you'd see the rest of the country deals with more than a kitty lost up a tree most days.
HRH of Boscombe wrote:Have you been living in a bubble, 2 police women were killed in Manchester a few weeks ago! Bringing in enough armed police is an operational decision i would leave to the trained professionals on the ground. Who is to know if the criminals were wandering about armed and ready to shoot? Better to have too many police there than not enough.ajj-dorset wrote: Some people are being a little harsh, the first reaction by Police to reports of guns, should quite rightly be to send in armed officers. Once they are in place then the area is made safe. If the criminals are outside and see the police arrival, of course they will "disappear". I suspect some people watch to many American Cop shows?I think Dorset Police have watched too much American Cop TV. Every squad car and all guns blazing. . Sounds like they were found by a member of staff there. A more covert operation might have trapped the suspects.
.
The Manchester thing was a trap to kill Police.
.
This sort of thing goes on all the time but sleepy old Dorset Police hit the panic button when more experienced forces would be thinking on their feet.
Clunge
says...
2:50pm Mon 22 Oct 12
I suspect this story will be updated in the future that some arrests have been made and convictions secured on the back of DNA, fingerprint evidence etc, with no drama and no innocent members of public harmed.
Instead some on here would have risked a gun battle in a Bournemouth Hotel, making the assumption that the offenders only has access to one gun (if indeed the "source" is accurate).
bmthlad69 would be brave enough to hide under the bed, Simcal would have kept a discreet eye on the place, and no doubt asked them nicely to stop, whilst asking the passing public not to panic and duck?
The Police get criticised constantly, some times it is justified but sometimes they deserve a bit of credit. They are legally obliged to keep the public safe and actually under the HRA, (Right to life), they have to consider the rights of the offender, asked later in court if the offenders could have been detained without lethal force.
What else were they supposed to do? Set up some sort of ambush in a dingy back street hotel in a densely populated residential area?
In this case, well done to the local plod.
bmthlad69
says...
3:14pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Clunge wrote:Ok maybe not under the bed, maybe in the cupboard. Come on you see this on tv all the time
I see this story has poked the idiots and the brave.
I suspect this story will be updated in the future that some arrests have been made and convictions secured on the back of DNA, fingerprint evidence etc, with no drama and no innocent members of public harmed.
Instead some on here would have risked a gun battle in a Bournemouth Hotel, making the assumption that the offenders only has access to one gun (if indeed the "source" is accurate).
bmthlad69 would be brave enough to hide under the bed, Simcal would have kept a discreet eye on the place, and no doubt asked them nicely to stop, whilst asking the passing public not to panic and duck?
The Police get criticised constantly, some times it is justified but sometimes they deserve a bit of credit. They are legally obliged to keep the public safe and actually under the HRA, (Right to life), they have to consider the rights of the offender, asked later in court if the offenders could have been detained without lethal force.
What else were they supposed to do? Set up some sort of ambush in a dingy back street hotel in a densely populated residential area?
In this case, well done to the local plod.
MPK83i
says...
3:15pm Mon 22 Oct 12
bmthlad69
says...
3:15pm Mon 22 Oct 12
bmthlad69 wrote:Hid under the bed,you are joking,have you seen the waist line on some of them.That is very true Pete, under the bed might be a bit of a squeeze
bogtrotter
says...
3:43pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Boscomite
says...
4:07pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Bosskom
says...
4:18pm Mon 22 Oct 12
bogtrotter
says...
4:22pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Arjay
says...
5:22pm Mon 22 Oct 12
bmthlad69 wrote:Hid under the bed,you are joking,have you seen the waist line on some of them.Some will be quite fit though... like those carrying the police dogs, for example...
Arjay
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5:23pm Mon 22 Oct 12
renea
says...
5:30pm Mon 22 Oct 12
grazzer wrote:ha ha, very good made me smile, great image in my head of some great slobbering alsation being carried around x
The article says officers were carrying guns and police dogs.lf the dogs needed to be carried they were obviously unfit for police work and should be retired.
Graham Cribb
The Cerne Giant
says...
6:46pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Perchance dear Woodbiners, jump your homely perch, and prove yourself a tad better than those you love to criticise, each and every day
Lubooo all:-((
Arjay
says...
7:18pm Mon 22 Oct 12
The Cerne Giant wrote:....Perhaps a version of your post in English, for those of us not fortunate enough to speak another language?...
The infamous wonderful Even Echo Woodbine gang are at it agan
Perchance dear Woodbiners, jump your homely perch, and prove yourself a tad better than those you love to criticise, each and every day
Lubooo all:-((
Mikeyunibournemouth
says...
9:21pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Firstly, lets support the Police in having the courage to deal with incidents that could potentially involved armed offenders.
We may differ in our opinion on whether the incident was handled correctly by the Police but surely we must all agree that the confiscation of these drugs is a positive and fire arm.
I know Bournemouth is a wash with drugs and that dealers are easily replaced but I welcome the police in maintaining the pressure on these highly destructive individuals.
I can only hope that arrests are made following this raid and that lengthy custodial sentences are handed down to the offenders.
I graduated from Bournemouth University in 2009 and am now proud to call the town my home; however, it grieves me to see that a place with such potential is being overrun with these parasites of the illegal drugs world.
Even if it is in vein, I will continue to support the police in dealing with the continuing problem of drugs....
yepIamlocal
says...
9:22pm Mon 22 Oct 12
yepIamlocal
says...
9:31pm Mon 22 Oct 12
What did they do exactly pop into a random Bournemouth hotel room without permission or a warrant ?? ummm
This reporter should be sacked for misleading the general public. We can all make claims but can you back them up ? on this instance I really doubt it......
yepIamlocal
says...
9:34pm Mon 22 Oct 12
What about the reporter Steve Smith ??
Its gets my goat when I see things that can not be validated.
Rant over...........
Arjay
says...
9:41pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Someone in the drugs supply 'chain' is going to be pretty annoyed that several thousand pounds worth of their 'stock' has been seized....
Bournemouth common sense
says...
9:48pm Mon 22 Oct 12
So the Police decided not to wait discreetly for the offenders to return!!! No wonder they are still at large, they are hardly likely to return to their room with all that malarky going on are they
They could have removed the gun and a few plain clothes officers could have just kept an eye on the place. Perhaps I'm missing something but that would seem like common sense to me. The Somalis in Boscombe always manage to evade the drug squad as well. They even call themselves the "A Team".
A few plain clothes officers?
A drug squad?
I'm afraid that reality may prove to be a terrible disappointment to you.
Krmgtsm7
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11:57pm Mon 22 Oct 12
poole man in france
says...
7:30am Tue 23 Oct 12
Just love the pun!
goatty
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8:03am Tue 23 Oct 12
street warrior
says...
6:46pm Tue 23 Oct 12
thevisitor says...
9:09am Mon 22 Oct 12