Stella the police dog sniffs out hard drugs in Thornton Heath car’s ceiling in Colliers Wood stop-and-search

Stella the police dog has helped cops bust a drugs haul being ferried about South London by sniffing out class A and B substances in a car’s roof lining.

A man has been arrested for drugs offences after the stop and search in Colliers Wood on Sunday, 21 June at 4.50pm.

Officers saw a blue Mercedes turn down a side road on the approach of the police car and stopped it on Warren Road. The driver had t

hree mobile phones so they carried out a search of the car under the drugs act and found a baseball bat in the boot.

The officers requested for a drugs dog to attend, as they believed drugs may be concealed within the car.

Stella pointed her muzzle towards the roof so officers pulled down its lining and found a quantity of suspected class A and B drugs.

A 32-year-old man from Thornton Heath was arrested for suspected possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was subsequently released pending further enquiries.

Detective Inspector Alison Foxwell of the South West (SW) Violence Suppression Unit, said: “This is one of many recent examples of the joint working between my team on the SW and our colleagues, whether two legged or the four legged from the dog support unit.

“This excellent work also shows the importance of stop and search in tackling the supply of controlled drugs. Drugs, and the violence often associated with them, is a key priority for my team. We will all continue to work together to find opportunities to disrupt, arrest and bring to justice those who seek to profit from selling controlled substances.”

Police dog Stella is five-years-old. Bred by the Met police and this is her second big drugs find in the roof lining of a car in three months.