News 17 November to 23 November
 Brentwood: Drug dealer hid behind 'Al Capone' phone nickname
A man’s been jailed for three years after trying to sell Class A drugs in Brentwood.
Zak Nsubuga was identified as a drug dealer running a line from Enfield into Brentwood.
He thought that registering the phone line under the name ‘Al Capone’ would stop us finding him.
Spoiler: It didn’t.
The 29-year-old was arrested at his home in Vian Avenue, Enfield, in September.
Whilst officers entered through the front door, he tried to dispose of a blue bag and get out through his bedroom window.
But he was stopped and arrested.
During a search of his home, we found seven mobile phones, a bundle containing individual deal wraps, a significant amount of in cash and a lot of drug preparation paraphernalia.
He was charged with being concerned in supply of Class A drugs, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.
He appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on 5 September and admitted all counts. He was sentenced to three years at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday 17 November.
 Sceptre Week: Working with retailers to help prevent knife crime
Our Business Crime Team works with retailers across Essex to help prevent knife crime.
By encouraging stores which sell knives to sign up to our Responsible Retailers scheme, they are helping to limit the opportunities for knives to fall into the wrong hands.
The scheme reminds retail staff of their legal responsibilities and provides advice on how to safely and securely store and display knives and other sharp implements, such as scissors.
 Colchester: Eleven arrested after outstanding suspects tracked down
Eleven people were arrested following a crackdown on wanted suspects in the district.
Officers from Colchester’s local and neighbourhood policing teams worked together to hunt down the individuals during a one-day blitz on addresses they were linked to.
Seven of those arrested had failed to appear at court for in connection with offences including assault and criminal damage.
Five were wanted for outstanding driving offences including drug driving, being unfit to drive through alcohol, and driving without insurance or a license.
Other crimes the suspects were wanted on suspicion of included theft, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of drugs.
Benfleet: Man charged with imitation firearms offences
Officers in Benfleet have secured charges against a man arrested following reports of someone acting suspiciously on Thursday 20 November.
We received a call to the Kents Hill Road area shortly after 7.45am and officers were on scene a short time later.
A man was arrested and a BB gun was recovered.
Now, Calum Jones, 20, of Hazlemere Road, Benfleet has been charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possession of an imitation firearm in a public place.
He appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Friday 21 November.
He has been remanded in custody is next due to appear at Basildon Crown Court on Friday 19 December.
Man issued a community order for shop theft
A man who stole more than £700 worth of goods from a Basildon business has been issued a community order.
Glen Wood of Wickhay, Basildon, was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work as part of a community order when he appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 12 November where he was found guilty of five counts of theft from shops.
In addition, he was also ordered to undertake a rehabilitation requirement course.
The 26-year-old committed three thefts from the same garage shop in Basildon on 7 and 8 August stealing food stuffs and alcohol totalling £437.00.
Then, he targeted the same shop a few weeks later stealing £268.00 worth of goods on two separate occasions on 20 and 27 August.
 Death of officer on duty
Sadly, we can confirm a police officer died in the line of duty on Wednesday 19 November following a collision on the A12.
The officer, who was riding a police motorbike, was responding to an emergency at the time of the collision which took place on the stretch of road near Ingatestone at around 12.25pm.
At this stage we do not believe any other vehicle was involved and, sadly, the officer died at the scene.
The road was closed for a significant amount of time while specialist officers responded and investigated at the scene.
In a display of determination and teamwork, officers successfully recovered three stolen vehicles within 60 minutes of being notified of a stolen vehicle on the move in west Essex.
The operation began when officers were alerted to a recently stolen Toyota Hilux being driven in Essex shortly after 7pm on Thursday 13 November.
Working closely with colleagues in Kent Police and supported by the National Police Air Service (NPAS), the roads policing team quickly narrowed the search area to a business park near Tilbury Port.
Upon gaining entry to the gated car park, officers discovered three stolen pick-ups in near-perfect condition. These included the moving stolen vehicle from Hertfordshire and two others taken in previous days from Kent and Sussex.
While securing the scene, officers noticed suspicious movement through a garage door window. Acting swiftly, they entered the premises. Inside, four suspects were found hiding behind a forklift, alongside multiple sets of registration plates, keys and phones.
In total, seven people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal vehicles, theft of vehicles and handling stolen goods.
 Watch neighbourhood policing officers arrest shoplifter after short foot chase
Our neighbourhood policing officers chased down a shoplifting suspect in Southend after they spotted him walking down the street, basket still in hand.
He quickly dropped it as our officers jumped out of their patrol car, swiftly caught up with him and arrested him on suspicion of shop theft.
Sergeant Steve Wells, of Southend Neighbourhood Policing Team, says the arrest ‘shows a good robust response to retail crime’.
The 27-year-old Southend man had piled £47.05 of goods into a basket at Tesco Express in Southchurch Road on 16 November and left without paying. Officers patrolling in the vicinity were alerted and spotted him nearby.
The man admitted shop theft and was later issued with a community resolution, which bans him from entering the Tesco Express store.
Shoebury: Charges secured after report of man with sword
A man has been charged following an incident in Shoebury.
On Monday 17 November, we received multiple calls from members of the public walking in the area carrying a sword.
Officers swiftly responded, a man was detained and the weapon recovered.
Charges have since been secured as follows:
Chris Fane, 39, of Saxon Gardens, Shoebury, faces counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place and theft.
He appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 19 November.
Sceptre week: How stop and search helps keeps Essex safe
We see a lot of headlines encouraging more police action in the use of stop and search to tackle knife crime.
This week is Sceptre – a national spotlight on the work in policing to tackle knife-related offending.
We’re taking hundreds of knives out of the hands of criminals and off the streets every year.
In 2025, we’ve:
- Undertaken more than 12,000 stop searches across the county.
- Making more than 1,700 arrests as a result.
- Seizing more than 360 weapons, including more than 260 knives or bladed weapons.
Stop and search is a hugely important policing power for protecting the public and tackling crime.
Searches can be undertaken in a range of situations, including when looking for weapons, drugs or stolen property.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events across Essex this week
Monday 24 November
10am to 11am
Tesco, Broadway, Leigh
10am to 11am
CVST, Harwich Hub, 276 High Street, Dovercourt
11am to 12pm
Oak Tree Coffee House, 4 Highwoods Square
12pm to 1pm
Everyone Active, The Brentwood Centre, Doddinghurst Road, Pilgrims Hatch
3pm to 3:30pm
Henham Community Store, High Street, Henham
3pm to 4pm
Tesco, Leigh Broadway, Leigh
Tuesday 25 November
9am to 12pm
Basildon Town Centre, Mother and Baby Walk from St Martins Square to the fountain
10am to 1pm
Remembrance walk from the bell tower to the fountain - Basildon Town Centre St Martins Square
10:30am to 11:30am
Waitrose , St Andrews Avenue
Wednesday 26 November
10am to 2pm
Safe to go Stow hub, 28 The Stow, Harlow
10am to 11am
Langenhoe Hall, Colchester
10am to 10:30am
Owls Hill Tea Rooms, Terling
11am to 12pm
Mercury Theatre, Balkerne Gate, Colchester, CO1 1PT
11am to 12pm
St Peters Church Great Wigborough.
11am to 12pm
Wickford High Street
Thursday 27 November
10am to 2pm
Weavers Court, Halstead CO9 2JN
10am to 11am
Mcdonalds, Staple Tye, Harlow
10am to 12pm
Dementia Cafe, St Claire Hospice, Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood
10am to 1pm
Wickford Market, Market Lane, Wickford
10am to 11am
Co-Op 123 Stock Road, Billericay
10am to 11am
McDonalds, Hartley Brook Road, Clacton on Sea
10am to 11am
Fingringhoe Village Hall
11am to 1pm
Saint Cuthbert's Catholic Church, Chapel Road, Burnham-on-Crouch, CM0 8JA
11am to 12pm
Springfield library, St Augustine's Way, Springfield, Chelmsford CM1 6GX
11:15am to 11:45am
Kelvedon Library, Maldon Road, Kelvedon
2:30pm to 3:30pm
Morris Avenue, parade of shops, Billericay
5pm to 6pm
Co-Op, London Road, Leigh
Friday 28 November
7am to 9am
Hockley Train Station, Station Road, Hockley Essex SS6 7HJ
10am to 2pm
George Yard, Braintree
10am to 12pm
Co-op Food, 45 Spa Road, Hockley SS5 4BE
10am to 11am
Morrisons Supermarket, Centenary Way, Little Clacton
10am to 11am
St Peters Church, Great Wigborough.
12pm to 1pm
IKEA Lakeside, Customer restaurant, Heron Way, Essex
2pm to 3pm
Costa Coffee, T Grove Brook Park West, Clacton on Sea
Saturday 29 November
10am to 11am
Crux Estate, Langland Close Hall, Langland Close, Corringham
11am to 1pm
Unit 17, The Grove Shopping Centre, Witham
3pm to 4pm
Broomfield Library, 180 Main Road, Broomfield, Chelmsford
Sunday 30 November
9am to 10am
Central Park, Chelmsford, CM1 1JJ
10am to 11am
Tesco Stores Ltd, Meadow Rise, Billericay
11am to 4pm
The Millennium Square, High Street, Walton on the Naze
For full details of upcoming events, please visit the Essex Police website and enter your postcode.
 Crime prevention advice
Sort Your Settings
As Black Friday approaches this week, we are excited to relaunch our popular Sort Your Settings campaign, continuing our commitment to helping families stay safe online during the busiest shopping season of the year. First introduced in 2022, this initiative provides parents and guardians with practical, easy-to-follow advice to protect children from online risks - especially as festive deals and digital purchases surge.
Our refreshed Sort Your Settings webpage includes:
- Updated guidance on popular games and social media platforms.
- Step-by-step instructions for enabling parental controls. Including new advice about security settings on routers; popular smart devices like the echo dot and Google ‘Forget Me’
- Information on age ratings, chat settings, and privacy tools.
- Tips on avoiding online scams and cyber threats - like software updates, and phishing prevention.
Be fraud smart
Watch out for scammers this Black Friday
With Black Friday around the corner, criminals will create fake websites advertising products at rock-bottom prices that never materialise.
If in doubt don’t click on the link, instead search for the organisation and take some time to read the entries on the results page to check it is genuine.
 Join our team
Police staff jobs
Vehicle Technician £40,383
Crime Scene Investigator £27,204
Contact Centre Officers £27,204 to £29,859
Visit our website for full advert, job descriptions and application form.
 This week we remember
Gordon Grieve Warner
Gordon Warner joined Essex County Constabulary on 27 March 1939, having previously been employed as a carriage cleaner by the London North Eastern Railway in Lowestoft.
After his initial period of service at Headquarters, Gordon was transferred to Chelmsford from 20 May 1939. On 11 August 1941 Gordon joined the R.A.F. and became one of several former Essex policemen who underwent training in the U.S.A.
He was killed on Wednesday, 25 November 1942 as a result of a flying accident in the U.S.A. whilst training.
Stapleton Hollett
Stapleton served with Essex County Constabulary from 15 Apr 1913. At the outbreak of war, in August 1914, Stapleton was recalled to the colours as Sergeant 14729. Stapleton Hollett died during the battle for Cambrai on 27 November 1917.
 Harry Beresford Mann
Harry Mann served with Southend Borough Constabulary from 1 April, 1914. On 17 June 1910, he joined Reigate Borough Police serving in that force as Constable 12. On 20 November 1915, he applied for permission to join the Military Police for the duration of the war. Harry was recorded as missing presumed killed in action on 30 November.
Robert Bambrough
Robert Bambrough served with Essex County Constabulary from 21 August 1843. He was tasked with escorting 20-year-old William Wood from Billericay Magistrates Court to Brentwood. Wood had been sentenced to three months imprisonment for poaching. Following a fight with Wood, Robert died the following day on Friday 30 November 1850.
Read more about other Essex officers on the Essex Police Memorial Trust website.
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