Police and paramedics attend incident in North End as property is raided and 'large brown bags' seized

POLICE and paramedics swamped a bustling city centre street to tackle an incident this evening.

By Tom Cotterill

Published 7th Sep 2020, 21:47 BST

Updated 8th Sep 2020, 10:05 BST

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Officers were seen charging into London Road, North End, shortly after 6pm, with witnesses claiming to see them detaining a male.

Paramedics and specialist air ambulance medics were also reported to have been at the scene.

One resident living in London Road, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Three police cars and an ambulance pulled up right outside my home and it looked like officers arrested one man. I had no idea what had happened or why.’

Officer at the scene outside a home in Kingston Crescent, North End. Photo: Tom Cotterill

Officer at the scene outside a home in Kingston Crescent, North End. Photo: Tom Cotterill

At the same time in nearby Kingston Crescent, a terraced home had been blocked off by officers from Hampshire Constabulary, with two police cars and a van parked outside.

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Witnesses reported seeing police raid the home shortly after 6pm, before detaining a male and bringing out a number of ‘large brown bags’, with officers still at the scene now.

One 34-year-old man, who lives in Kingston Crescent but asked not to be named, said: 'Police have been here all night.

An officer leads a man into the back of a police van which had been parked outside a home in Kingston Crescent. Photo: Tom Cotterill

An officer leads a man into the back of a police van which had been parked outside a home in Kingston Crescent. Photo: Tom Cotterill

‘I walked in my house and looked out the window and saw two cop cars outside. Then a meat wagon (police van) turned up and police had put some man in it.

‘I then saw police take a load of large brown bags out of the house and put them in their cars.’

He added the area had a reputation as being a drugs hot spot and claimed the stench of cannabis was a daily problem.

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Police outside a home in Kingston Crescent which witness report was raided by officers, who removed a number of 'large brown bags' from inside. Photo: Tom Cotterill

Police outside a home in Kingston Crescent which witness report was raided by officers, who removed a number of 'large brown bags' from inside. Photo: Tom Cotterill

The News has approached authorities for an official comment on the incident.

You can catch up with more of our stories about crime and incidents in Portsmouth by joining our Portsmouth Breaking News and Incidents Facebook group.

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