Tag: Police Scotland

Armed robber’s taxi to Pilton?

store jewel

An armed robber is believed to have hijacked a taxi and taken it to Pilton after robbing a city centre jewellers at gunpoint this morning.

The man entered Laing the jewellers in Frederick Street at 9.30. He brandished a handgun and threatened staff before stealing a number of high value items – the jeweller specialises in high-end, expensive watches.

The thief then ran along Rose Street and into Hanover Street where he is understood to have hijacked a private hire car.

The cab driver was ordered to drive to the north of the city – it’s thought that there may have been a passenger may inside the taxi at the time of the hijack but police have yet to confirm the reports.

The suspect was last seen when he got out of the vehicle on the corner of in Pilton Drive North and Royston Mains Crescent.

The man is described as white, in his early 30s and 5ft 10in tall. He was wearing a dark padded hooded jacket, blue trousers and a blue and white scarf and was carrying a black and white rucksack.

Police are appealing for witnesses. Detective  Sergeant Raymond Gray said: “This robbery left the staff badly shaken but thankfully unhurt.
We are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen the man, or has information about the crime, so that we can trace him as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information should call Police Scotland on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Fidra Court explosives: man pleads guilty

Man admits Fidra and Persevere Courts explosives offences

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An Edinburgh man has admitted possessing explosive substances after a significant number of items were found in two properties in the north of the city last year.

Faris Al-Khori, (62), today pleaded guilty under the Explosive Substances Act 1883, Section 4, following the recovery of material from two flats in Fidra Court and Persevere Court (below) last April. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The items were discovered following a fire in a communal area of Fidra Court on Friday 18 April. Both flat complexes were evacuated whilst suspect items were recovered by army explosives experts.

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Detective Superintendent David Gordon, who led the investigation said: “This was a significant and complex inquiry for Police Scotland, working with our partners from the outset to safely deal with the volatile items that were being stored, and to seek to establish Al-Khori’s motives for keeping them.

“Extensive inquiries both nationally and internationally were carried out, which did not identify any link to terrorism or extremism. We are satisfied there is no immediate threat to the community.

“Counter terrorism is one of Police Scotland’s highest priorities, and whilst Al-Khori has no such known links we will always treat all information received with the utmost importance where any risk to the public is identified. Members of the public can call 101 or the anti terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321. We welcome the conviction at the High Court today and await sentencing.”

Police Scotland – Your Say, Your Way event

Have your say on making Police Scotland service centres work for you

Your say Your WayAge Scotland has been contacted recently with information about events that Police Scotland are hosting across Scotland. The purpose of these events is to engage with the community to talk about contacting the Police through their call centres. They want to know what barriers there are and how we can improve things for everyone.

The main focus of the event is for people with communication needs that prevent them having equal access – for example:

·         British Sign Language users

·         people who are hard of hearing

·         people without speech or who have issues with their speech

·         people for whom English is not their first language

·         people who have a physical disability that causes issues when using the phone / email systems to contact the police

·         people with learning disabilities

·         people with mental health issues

(Please note these are only some examples)

The Edinburgh event will take place on Monday 2 March (see poster, below) at Norton Park from 11am – 4pm.

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Sorry for the short notice on this. Please can you circulate this invite to all your contacts / service users / staff and encourage them to attend.

This is a great opportunity for them to have their say on the way they prefer to communicate with Police Scotland both in an emergency and non-emergency situation.

There are a limited number of spaces at each venue please can you encourage people to book now to ensure their space is secured.

If you have any questions about the events please contact :

Constable Stephanie Rose A462

National Safer Communities, Equality and Diversity

Scottish Crime Campus

Craignethan Drive, Gartcosh G69 8AE

01236 814710 

Laura Dunkel

AGE Scotland, 

Community Development Officer (Edinburgh and Lothians)

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Ferry Road armed robberies: man to appear in court today

BP garagePolice in Edinburgh have arrested a 39-year-old man in connection with two armed robberies in the Ferry Road area.

Both incidents occurred in Ferry Road, Edinburgh. The first incident took place at a BP Garage on Sunday, January 18, while the second incident was at Scotbet on Tuesday, January 27.

He was arrested at Levenmouth Police Station on Wednesday evening and is now in custody in Edinburgh. He will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today (Friday).

Detective Constable Mark Seymour said: “The culprit was identified after we received information following the release of CCTV stills in the media. I would like to thank the public for their assistance with this.”

Man in hospital following Telford Road collision

Accident

A man was taken to hospital following a two-car collision on Telford Road last night. 

The accident happened at about 22:40. The man was cut from the wreckage by fire crews and taken by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The hospital’s Medic One team was also in attendance at the scene.

No-one else was injured in the collision.

Two face Court following Telford drug seizure

police on foot

Two people have been charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act after police recovered Class B drugs at a property on Telford Road on Thursday. Amphetamine with a street value of around £3,500 and a substantial quantity of cannabis were recovered by officers during the intelligence-led raid.

A 28-year-old man and 22-year-old woman have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal and will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in due course.

Inspector David Happs said: “Crucial intelligence and proactive policing has resulted in the removal of a significant quantity of drugs from the streets of Edinburgh. We will continue to use all the resources at our disposal to remove drugs from our communities.”

Anyone with information that can help police with their enquiries is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Operation Quarterlight: cracking down on car crime

Quarterlight update: six arrests last week

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Operation Quarterlight is a Police Scotland initiative aimed at tackling motor vehicle crime in hotspot areas. Since the start of the initiative in January 2015, local officers involved in the operation have made 24 arrests and solved 68 crimes related to motor vehicle offences.

In the last week officers in Edinburgh have arrested five men and one woman for various offences related to motor vehicles crimes. Of those arrested a 22-year-old man has been remanded in custody on multiple charges.

Additionally in the last week there has been 15 stop searches in hotspot areas and 41 bail curfew checks completed on some of Edinburgh’s most prolific offenders.

Police have also charged a 41-year-old woman with the theft of a pedal cycle. This had previously been advertised as for sale on a website. The bike has now been recovered and returned to its owner.

PS Tom Mallinson, who runs the Quarterlight team, said: “We have solved almost seventy crimes since Quarterlight began and well over half of these relate to vehicle crime. We are quite clear with offenders – we will continue to investigate all crimes linked to vehicles across the city.

“Many of these individuals will be involved in assaults, hate crimes, vandalisms and serious driving offences while in the commission of motor vehicle offences and our team has prioritised access to forensic services, CCTV and national vehicle crime experts to combat the challenge of autocrime.”

Chief Superintendent Mark Williams, who oversees Operation Quarterlight locally, pressed home the point about car security and improving results. He said: “We have seen a week on week increase in detection rates, as well as a driving down of car crime as the message gets out.

“We have increased preventative night time patrols in hot spot areas and officers have conducted over a hundred searches resulting in numerous arrests.

“We still want car owners to be careful – secure their vehicles, park in well-lit and overlooked spots and ensure valuable items are removed or at least not on show in their vehicles.”

Counterfeit goods seized in North Edinburgh raid

Counterfeit tobacco and alcohol confiscated in joint raids

Police at Drylaw Shops

Over £4500 worth of contraband goods were seized and one man was arrested following raids on premises in North and Central Edinburgh yesterday.

Detectives and police officers from  the Search and Recovery Team worked with colleagues from Trading Standards, Imperial Tobacco, HMRC and Stirling Council in the operation.

The team carried out intelligence-led raids on on five shops – including one North Edinburgh convenience store – and recovered a ‘significant amount’ of counterfeit tobacco products and alcohol.

Illegal goods worth around £4500 were seized including around 70 litres of vodka and whisky valued at approximately £3000 and a large quantity of imported tobacco. A 29-year-old male was also arrested for an immigration offence.

DCI Stuart Houston, Edinburgh Division CID said: “Following intelligence, officers from Police Scotland, HMRC, Trading Standards, Imperial Tobacco and Stirling Council took part in a day of action targeting a number of commercial premises in Edinburgh.

“As a result, officers seized around £4500 worth of counterfeit goods and made one arrest in relation to an immigration offence.

“This follows a similar operation we led in December and we will continue to thoroughly investigate those who choose to ignore the law surrounding the sale of counterfeit goods.

“If anyone is aware of counterfeit goods being sold to the public then I ask them to contact police immediately on 101 or Crimestoppers.”