Police spent 15 minutes searching two men for cannabis outside Bristol Magistrates’ Court today (February 20).
The pair were sitting on the steps leading down from the court this morning, directly opposite two police vans parked on Marlborough Street.
Both men were smoking roll-ups and one was drinking from a Stella Artois bottle.
A woman, who did not wish to be named, suspected the roll-ups contained Class B drug cannabis and at 10.20am reported the men to the officers sitting in the vans.
Three officers proceeded to get out of their vehicles and approached the two men.
One officer said to the pair: “There is a strong smell of cannabis.”
Over the following 15 minutes, the police searched the two men.
One of the suspects could be heard shouting: “I ain’t f****** got anything on me.”
The other yelled at an officer: "F*** off before I slap you."
The officers walked away from the two men at 10.35am, without taking any action.
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An Avon and Somerset police spokesman said: “Two people were searched but nothing was found on them.”
And one of the officers present told Bristol Live: "We couldn't find any cannabis."
The woman who had reported the men to police said: "A strong smell of cannabis being smoked outside the court was enough for me to alert the police, who happened to be nearby.
"The two gentlemen were confronted by the officers, but after a long search the police left them to get on with their days.”
You can watch footage of the incident at the top of this page.
