Three men have been arrested after police linked two knifepoint carjackings with an attempted robbery at a newsagents and the firing of weapons in two Norfolk villages.
The arrests are in connection with a string of crimes over the past two days in Norwich and South Norfolk, which included:
- A taxi driver who was held up at knifepoint in Norwich and had his taxi stolen
- The attempted robbery of a newsagents in Norwich
- The knifepoint carjacking of a woman's black Mini Cooper in Norwich.
- The discharge of a firearm in Stoke Holy Cross and Wreningham
One man in his 30s was arrested in connection with the Guernsey Road robbery yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, but Norfolk police last night arrested two further men on suspicion of robbery, with all three still in custody.
One man, in his 30s, was arrested in Dereham Road at about 7.30pm last night and another man, also in his 30s, was arrested in the Russell Street area of the city in the early hours of this morning.
The first crime happened in Bull Close Road in north Norwich at 5.30am on Monday. Two men armed with a knife approached a Five Stars taxi driver who was parked in the street and ordered him to get out of the car - a blue Skoda Superb.
The robbers then stole the vehicle and picked up a woman nearby. The car was last seen at Norwich International Airport heading out of the city.
Nearly 12 hours later, at about 5pm, the car was returned to near Bull Close Road and later recovered by police.
At around 6pm, a witness said two men and a woman entered Silver Stores, in Silver Road - just around the corner from Bull Close Road - where they pulled a knife on a customer before running away.
At just before 6.30pm, two men forced a woman out of a car at knifepoint in Guernsey Road, close to Tesco in Magdalen Road, before they stole her vehicle - a black Mini Cooper.
Norfolk police said all that was followed by "the discharge of a firearm" at locations in Stoke Holy Cross and Wreningham on Monday.
Police said nobody had been hurt in any of the incidents. They said they had now recovered the stolen Mini Cooper, which was being forensically examined, as was the stolen taxi.
Anyone with any information about any of the crimes should contact Norwich CID on 101 on 10 June 2019. Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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