Efits Released In Marham Investigtion

27 July 2016, 13:04 | Updated: 27 July 2016, 13:11

Police investigating the attempted abduction of an RAF serviceman at Marham have released e-fit images of the two suspects.

It comes as officers have been carrying out extra checks near the scene and around the village one week on.

The suspects, both described as Middle Eastern origin in appearance, remain at large and their vehicle has not yet been located.

Suspect 1 is aged between 20-30, about 6ft tall, of athletic but stocky build, with dark hair which was long on top and had a well-groomed beard. He had a dark skin tone and wore causal clothing.

Suspect 2 is aged between 20-30, but younger than the first suspect and of a slimmer build. He was about 5ft 10, clean shaven with short dark hair and wore a white t-shirt and dark shorts.

Anyone who recognises either of the suspects or has information regarding their whereabouts should call police on 101 or the hotlines on 0800 056 0154 or 0207 158 0011. If you see the men do not approach them and call police immediately on 999.

Detective Superintendent Paul Durham, from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation, is leading the enquiry with support from officers at the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command. 
He said: "Today we have released e-fit images of the two suspects seen by the victim during the incident and I would urge anyone who recognises either man to come forward and call police immediately.”

While the victim only witnessed two people during the incident, officers have said it is possible there was at least one other person in the vehicle.

Det Supt Durham added: "We know that our victim is a member of RAF personnel and we are still investigating how much relevance this was to his attempted abduction. It is probable that there would have been a degree of planning involved and in order to achieve this, it is quite possible that there was at least one other person involved.”

This afternoon officers will be carrying out concerted witness appeals in Marham, seeking information from people who were in the local area last Wednesday (20 July), who may have seen anything unusual and seen the suspects or their vehicle.

"We’ve carried out extensive enquiries in the area but the purpose of these anniversary checks is to speak with people who regularly use roads in the area as part of a route to work or in their social life who we haven’t necessarily captured as part of our house to house enquiries.

"We know from CCTV enquiries that this road, despite being rural, is well used, so it’s possible someone may have seen the dark coloured people carrier either being driven by the suspects or parked up in the area on that day.”

The victim, a man in his late 20s, was out running between 2.45pm and 3.26pm when he was approached by suspect 1 who grabbed him by the shoulder and wrist before pulling him towards the vehicle. The victim managed to fight off his attacker, head-butting and punching him, which is likely to have caused visible facial injuries. The suspect was knocked to the floor and it was at this point suspect 2, who was armed with a knife, appeared and went to the aid of his accomplice. This allowed the victim to run away and get help.