Sutton suspects charged after zombie knife and folding blade seized

The county knife crime team were out in Lammas Road, Sutton, when they pulled a car over that aroused their suspicions.

A search was then carried out of the vehicle at around 6.10pm on Saturday, September 23, in which a lock knife and quantities of heroin and crack cocaine were seized.

Following this discovery, knife crime officers executed a warrant at a house later that evening in nearby Westbourne Road, Sutton, in which a zombie knife was found inside.

Zombie knives, samurai swords, knuckledusters, friction lock batons and throwing stars are some of the weapons it is now illegal for people to keep in their homes or in a private setting in the UK, under the offensive weapons act.

Dale Potter, 42, of Westbourne Road, Sutton, was subsequently charged with possession of an offensive weapon in a private setting.

Lee Bird, 41, of Ashleigh Avenue, Sutton, was separately charged with possession of a knife in a public place and possession of Class A drugs.

The weapons and drugs have all been seized by police, while both suspects have been released on bail and are due to appear at Mansfield Magistrates’ Courts on October 17, 2023.

Zombie knives are blades with a cutting edge, a serrated edge and images or words featured suggesting its use for violence.

Sergeant Jonny Groves, of Nottinghamshire Police’s county knife crime team, said: “Proactive patrols like the one that led to these knife seizures are a key part of what we do as a team.

“By being out and about on the streets in the way we are each day, we’re able to follow up suspicious behaviour as we see it and respond to intelligence relating to criminal activity, with the ultimate intention of taking knives off the streets.

“In addition to it being illegal to carry a knife in public, it is important that people realise it is also a criminal offence, under the offensive weapons act, for anyone to store certain weapons, including zombie knives, in a private setting anywhere in the UK.”