Arrests made after armed police shoot out tyres of taxi

Arrests have been made following an incident where armed police shot out the tyres of a taxi. Merseyside Police were called to Walton Lane, Walton - near Goodison Park - just before 1pm on Tuesday, May 21.

A spokesperson for the force confirmed at the time it was part of a pre-planned vehicle stop and officers seized a blank firing pistol and ammunition. A private hire taxi was stopped by armed police officers, who shot at the tyres.

Police confirmed four men were arrested this morning, Wednesday, August 28, on suspicion of firearms offences in connection with the incident. As part of a joint investigation with the National Crime Agency, officers from the Organised Crime Partnership carried out warrants in north Liverpool and Wirral earlier today.

Two men, aged 30 and 36, have been arrested on suspicion of possession of a prohibited firearm, conspiracy to sell or transfer a prohibited firearm and possession of a firearm when prohibited, a 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to sell or transfer a prohibited firearm and a 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of a prohibited firearm.

All four men are currently in custody and will be questioned by detectives. Christopher James, 26, of Collin Road, in Bidston, was arrested in May in connection with the incident on Tuesday, May 21 and he has been charged with possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate, possession of a firearm when prohibited for life and possession of a firearm of length less than 30cm/60cm. He is next due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, September 10.

Detective Inspector Laura Parr said: “I can confirm that four more men have been arrested this morning in connection to the firearm recovery in May. I hope the action taken today shows Merseyside Police and the National Crime Agency’s relentless pursuit of those suspected as being involved in serious organised crime in Merseyside and how we are determined to rid our streets of dangerous firearms that cause misery for local people in our communities.

“Enforcement operations like the warrants carried out this morning illustrates that Merseyside Police and the NCA will proactively tackle issues that matter most to our residents and keep our streets safe. This supports the work we do every day of the year to tackle those involved in serious organised crime.

“Information from the public is vital if we are to breakdown the organised crime groups and I would appeal to anyone who has information to come forward.”

If you have information about firearms in your community, you can DM @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook or call 101. You can also call the independent, anonymous, Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555 111.