Armed masked men break into children’s birthday party to demand drugs

Police believe robbers, who stole woman’s phone, had wrong house

Three masked men armed with knives stormed into a children’s birthday party and demanded drugs.

Police believe the men, who stole a woman’s phone while inside the house in Norwich, may have broken into the wrong address.

The men are said to have forced their way into the property and threatened the residents, which included a number of young children.

A manhunt was launched after police were called to the property in Hunter Road, Catton Grove, at about 6.50pm on Friday.

All three suspects are described as black, two were about 6ft tall while one was slightly shorter, and all were wearing dark clothes and balaclavas.

Inspector Graham Dalton, the local policing lead, said he believed the incident was linked to Operation Gravity – a campaign launched in 2016 to deal with drug dealers coming into the area from London.

“This must have been very distressing for those involved and I want to reassure the victims and other local residents that we are doing everything we can to find the offenders quickly,” he said.

“I do believe this is connected to Operation Gravity drug dealing and would ask anyone with information regarding those involved to contact the police immediately.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information concerning it should contact Norwich CID on 101 or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.