Family terrified as cops arrest dad in drugs raid blunder
INNOCENT MAN HANDCUFFED IN FRONT OF HIS CHILDREN – THEN POLICE SAY: ‘SORRY, WE HAD WRONG INTELLIGENCE’
A TERRIFIED father-of-two explained how police officers burst into his family home and arrested him in front of his petrified children before they apologised for making a mistake.
Zain Saqib, 36, of Wimbledon Road in Sherwood, says the incident has traumatised his family with his young daughter, 7, no longer wanting to sleep in her bedroom.
Mr Saqib, an Uber driver, has lived at the rented house he shares with his wife, Tahira Shaheen and the two children for seven years.
He now wants to move out over fears that officers will return.
He said the incident has also left the family embarrassed and ashamed as he believes their neighbours now look at them as “criminals”.
He told the Post: “I have never seen anything like this. I am a taxi driver and every year I have to do a CRB (Criminal Records
Bureau) check.
“I have never committed a crime and don’t even have a point on my licence.
“I feel ashamed of being a British citizen today. Look what the police have done to me and my family - do they think it is acceptable?”
Mr Saqib had returned home from work at 11.30am on Saturday and was pouring a glass of water when he claims he saw “around 20” police officers jumping over the wall of his back garden.
He said he opened the door in utter shock and disbelief, claiming one officer grabbed hold of him and detained him.
He said handcuffs were placed on his arms in front of his two children, aged seven and 14 months, while his wife watched on in fear.
Mr Saqib said: “Straight away one of the police officers said to me ‘you are under arrest’ and he handcuffed me in front of my kids.
“I asked the reason and they said ‘we have intelligence that you grow cannabis in the house.’
“I was shocked to hear this as I live with small children - why would they think this?
“The rest of the police officers spread all over my house, shouting at my kids and wife.
“After 10 minutes of terror they came down and said ‘sorry - we had wrong intelligence.’ Is just ‘sorry’ enough after creating all this terror in my house?
“I have lived in the same house for the last seven years. We were a happy family until this day of terror came into our lives.”
He said the force has offered no formal apology for the distress they have caused or “seem to understand the long-term implications the raid had on the family’s mental health”.
He said: “I have two young children. They are so scared that they can’t sleep since this happened to us. My wife is in a state of trauma, she hasn’t slept since that day.
“I can’t go to work as my whole family is scared.”
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: “We have been made aware of an official complaint that has been made in relation to this incident which will be investigated by our Professional Standards Department.
“A number of officers were in the Sherwood area having just executed a warrant at a nearby property where they had discovered a large cannabis grow.
“It would appear that the officers’ enquiries subsequently led them to Mr Saqib’s address where the incident in question occurred.
“Mr Saqib was given an apology at the time. However, the precise circumstances of the officers’ actions rightly necessitate an explanation. The force takes such complaints seriously and Mr Saqib will be updated accordingly.”