Closure call for troubled Smethwick pub
Police are calling for the closure of a Smethwick pub which has been plagued by crime and suspected of being used as a brothel.
On one occasion four naked men and women were found at the Queens Arms in Heath Street during a police raid. Just a few months later a man was shot outside the premises during an armed robbery.
Officers are now calling for the pub to be closed in order for changes to be made.
Licensing chief Pc Jim Potts also wants pub bosses removed.
They are due to appear in front of licensing chiefs at Sandwell Council when they face a review of the licence next week.
Pc Potts states in a report that there have been seven cases of crime and disorder at the venue between January and May this year.
On January 26 the pub was raided by police and two women were arrested on suspicion of running a brothel after being found naked upstairs with two naked men. They were later released without charge.
A third women was also arrested on immigration matters and was deported.
In April a 41-year-old man was shot in the leg outside the pub during an armed robbery.
Pc Potts states: "This involved an armed robbery where expensive jewellery was stolen by force and during the ensuing struggle between offender and victim a firearm was discharged a number of times both inside and outside the premises."
Reports of a man with a knife refusing to leave the pub and noise complaints have also been received.
Pc Potts is also calling for supervisor Lilliane Mpambu and manager Nicolis Sossou to be removed and wants the licence suspended for up to three months, so that changes can be made.
Mr Sossou was unavailable for comment today.
