A driver who reversed away from a police check on London Road was found with 50+ deal bags of suspected drugs. Officers dealt with 95 offences that day.
A driver who reversed away from a police road safety check on London Road in Southend was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs with intent to supply and drug driving. Officers found more than 50 deal bags of suspected drugs in the car.
Essex Police published the details on Wednesday 30 September (Essex Police). The arrest happened two weeks earlier, on Wednesday 16 September.
What happened
Officers were running a Vision Zero enforcement operation outside the old Nazareth House on London Road. The force says a driver spotted the check and reversed away. Officers followed the car and stopped it further up the road.
Inside, they found more than 50 deal bags of suspected drugs. A roadside drugs test was positive. A man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs and drug driving (Essex Police).
The force has not named the man, and has not said whether he has been charged or released. An arrest is not a finding of guilt.
95 offences in one operation
The drug arrest was one of 95 traffic offences officers dealt with during the operation. Essex Police itemised these:
- 30 mobile phone tickets
- 26 seatbelt tickets
- 11 number plate offences, eight of them plates altered or incorrectly displayed
- 2 drivers reported for driving otherwise than in accordance with their licence
- 2 drivers reported for having no insurance, and 3 vehicles seized for no insurance
- 2 tickets for vehicle defects relating to MOT requirements
Officers also carried out two eyesight tests. The itemised offences add up to 73 of the 95; the force did not break down the rest (Essex Police).
Why police run these checks
Vision Zero is the shared aim of Essex Police and its partners to end deaths and serious injuries on Essex roads by 2040 or sooner. The checks target what the force calls the Fatal Five:
- speeding
- drink or drug driving
- using a mobile phone at the wheel
- not wearing a seatbelt
- careless or dangerous driving
The force says these behaviours make a collision more likely and its injuries more severe (Essex Police).
Drug offences in central Southend
Drug driving does not appear in the street-level crime data, but drug possession and supply offences do. Police recorded 51 drug offences within a mile of the Nazareth House site in August 2026, the latest month published. The monthly figure has ranged from 40 to 80 since March. July was the highest, at 80 (data.police.uk).
The street-level data places each crime at an approximate location. The 51 offences recorded in August included 13 placed on or near a nightclub (data.police.uk).
What it means for you
- The checks are part of a long-running campaign. Essex Police describes Vision Zero activity as continuing work towards its 2040 target, not a one-off.
- The everyday offences are the ones being caught. More than half of the itemised tickets were for phones and seatbelts. A phone offence carries six penalty points and a £200 fine (GOV.UK).
- Drug driving is tested at the roadside. Officers used a roadside test here before the arrest.
- To report drug dealing, call Essex Police on 101, report online at essex.police.uk, or tell Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 in an emergency.
For current closures and diversions on Southend’s roads, see our Southend roadworks and travel page.
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