Wiltshire Police has issued four coronavirus lockdown fines to men arrested on suspicion of weapons and drugs offences in Swindon on Saturday.
At approximately 5.30pm on Saturday, police received a report that a car had been seen travelling in the Axford area near Marlborough firing an air rifle from the window.
The vehicle – a black Audi A4 – was stopped by officers in Elmina Road, Swindon.
The car was searched and an air rifle was found in the boot – this was seized. Cannabis was also located inside the vehicle.
Four men – age 29, 35, 37 and 38 and from the Swindon area – were all arrested on suspicion of having an air weapon in a public place and possession of a class B drug.
They were taken to Gablecross custody for questioning and in addition to this, they were issued with Fixed Penalty Notices after failing to comply with the Coronavirus Act which states you must only leave your house for essential travel. All four individuals have since been released under investigation while further enquiries are carried out.
Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said: “Here in Wiltshire, officers are very much focusing on engagement and encouragement – enforcement is always our last option and on this occasion, officers did the right thing by issuing Fixed Penalty Notices. This was clearly an incident where enforcement was needed and I fully support their decision.
“These are the first FPNs we have issued in the county under the new legislation but I fear they will not be the last, as over the weekend I have been disappointed to hear of a number of significant incidents in our county and I am aware of a dramatic increase in Covid-19–related calls to our Crime and Communication Centre.”
