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Police in armed standoff with gunman in Surrey village Armed police end standoff after Surrey house found to be empty
(about 5 hours later)
Armed police are locked in a standoff with a gunman in a Surrey village. A stand off involving armed police at a house in a Surrey village that lasted for several hours has ended after a search of the property revealed it to be empty.
Police raided the house in Smallfield at 6am as part of a planned operation but were confronted by a man wielding a firearm. Police raided the semi-detached house on Careys Wood, in Smallfield, at 6am on Thursday in a pre-planned drugs operation, arresting three people.
Images from the scene on local media websites show a heavily armed police presence in the area with several vehicles, including an armoured Land Rover, outside the semi-detached property on a leafy road called Careys Wood. Officers believed a fourth person was inside with a gun, leading to a lengthy stand off, involving a number of armed officers, an armoured Land Rover, and a helicopter from the national police air service (NPAS).
A police helicopter was dispatched to assist with the operation and a cordon is in place restricting access to surrounding roads. A cordon was set up on local roads and residents were prevented from returning to their homes. But just before 4pm, Surrey police tweeted that it had “stepped down its response”.
A spokeswoman for Surrey police said: “A preplanned warrant was executed at a property in Careys (Wood) at around 6am this morning, Thursday 28 July. Upon entry to the property a person was seen to be in possession of a suspected firearm. Senior Investigation Officer Detective Inspector Paul Burrill, said: “Officers responded to information that a further man was inside the property on Careys Wood and was believed to be in a possession of a suspected firearm. Following a thorough search of the property with assistance from NPAS and the Surrey Police Dog Unit no one was located inside the address.”
“NPAS (National Police Air Service) are assisting. A cordon is currently in place on local roads while police deal with the ongoing incident. Local residents are thanked for their patience.” He said police were now urgently trying to trace 57-year-old Paul Hodge who is wanted on suspicion of drugs and firearms offences. Burrill urged anyone who has seen him not to approach him but to call 999 immediately.
A business owner, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Surrey Mirror he believed the incident began as a drugs raid. He said: “I’ve heard rumours that it started off as a drug raid and I believe that the chap in there has got a gun and he was saying, ‘I’m a free man of the land’.” The three people arrested at the property were a woman in her 40s, detained on suspicion of drugs related offences and two men – one in his 20s and another in his late teens – arrested on suspicion of obstructing police. A number of guns were recovered from the house.
Warrants were also executed at 15 other addresses across East Surrey as part of the Operation Aragon and 10 people were arrested in total. They all remained in custody on Thursday afternoon.
Surrey police said the warrants were obtained as part of large scale investigation into the supply of class A controlled drugs.