Café Nos Terra, in Norwich Road, Ipswich, has licence revoked after police officer placed in headlock and several drug-related incidents

An Ipswich café had its licence revoked after a police officer was placed in a headlock and several drug-related incidents.

Members of Ipswich’s licensing and regulatory sub-committee met this morning to decide the future of Café Nos Terra, in 35 Norwich Road after Suffolk Constabulary called for its licence’s ‘immediate suspension’.

The recommendation came after multiple serious disorder incidents which left the force ‘out of options’, the police report stated.

Presenting the constabulary’s case, its licencing officer, Ms Sharon Betts-Palmer said the force had ‘very great concerns’ with how the café was being run.

Ms Betts-Palmer repeated the police’s report which stated the café had become ‘a serious local issue’ since Carla Alexandra Melo de Sousa, took over the venue as premises licence holder and supervisor.

In one instance on October 5, Ps Mason Blanchard said he was placed in a headlock by a man while trying to separate a large-scale fight involving around 10 people outside the premises.

In his witness statement, he stated: “As I grabbed hold of one male who had another in a headlock, I felt a forearm across my throat applying pressure and another arm around my waist.

“I was dragged from the group with continuing pressure around my upper body and throat, and pushed backwards towards one of the cafés.”

He then said he had to use force to get control over the aggressor, with multiple members of the public trying to prevent his arrest.

The use of force, he stated, was ‘proportionate and the most minimal’ to defend himself.

The assault is currently being investigated.

Addressing this, Ms Ferreira, who spoke on behalf of the licence holder, said the premises had already been closed for 45 minutes by the time the fight broke out and presented photos from CCTV footage meant to show it.

She also refuted parts of the officer’s statement, and claimed he did not announce himself — his witness statement states he was in a full police uniform and shouted ‘police’.

She said: “At no point did he put the officer in a headlock or use any strength to harm the officer, all he was trying to do was disarm the fight.”

A statement was submitted by Lara Moreira, the daughter of cafe owner Dirce Maior, who was present during the night of the fight.

It stated: “At no point did we witness [the man] headlocking the police officer; rather, we observed a man attempting to de-escalate the situation who was approached from behind by an officer who did not announce who he was, upon realising the individual was a police officer, he was quick to apologize.”

Ms Betts-Palmer also said the cafe had now become known for drug dealing, with two drug-related incidents included in the report and discussed this morning.

In one of these, on October 1, the premises were subject to a search warrant during which officers found one male member of staff in possession of a small bag of cannabis and another male customer with several bags of cannabis and a wrap of cocaine plus two phones, one of which was a burner.

During the search, officers also found digital scales next to the coffee machine and two steak knives in the basin cabinet of the toilets — in the function room, there was also a cubby hole which had a mattress, sleeping bags and documents for different people.

Ms Ferreira said: “We’re a café, not a big club, we cannot control what a person has on their being when they enter our establishment.”

She also added the person arrested as a result had no relationship to the café and the scale had been left weeks prior by a customer.

Summing up, Ms Ferreira said: “We are not an establishment that stands for criminal activities, we are not an establishment that is in any way, shape, or form tied to drugs or any illegal activities.”

In a statement, Ms Maior said: “I don’t believe it’s fair to penalize me or my business for past incidents that I have already taken action to resolve.

“This business is my passion, I am so happy I am able to have a space like Nos Terra that every single day is home to people from every background, every age.

“We are not here to be in a battle with authorities or cause disturbance.”

After taking adjourning for consideration, councillors decided to revoke the premises licence.