Wolverhampton pub The Bond Street Tavern faces closure after drug and knife seizure
A troubled city centre pub where police seized 'copious' amounts of cannabis and two knives could be shut down.
The Bond Street Tavern was raided by officers who also discovered traces of cocaine and a coconut which had been made into a bong.
The pub in Bond Street previously gained an unwanted reputation as The Greyhound at which a bouncer stabbed a reveller who was refused entry.
The Greyhound had its licence revoked in June 2013 – and now West Midlands Police are seeking the same for the Bond Street Tavern after the drugs find in February.
A licence hearing will be held on Thursday when city councillors will decide the pub's fate.
The police application to review the licence, states: "Seized during the warrant were copious amounts of cannabis, some in dealer wraps, two lock knives and a coconut that had been made into a bong used for drug misuse. A number of partly smokes spliffs were also recovered from the garden.
"Officers took evidential swabs from the toilets, the bar area and both an internal and external customer table to establish any traces of drugs. A trace of cocaine was found on the internal table and a trace of morphine on the external table.
It adds: "Activity at the venue presents a serious risk to public safety. The venue has had ample opportunities to meet the licensing objectives and a failure to do so have left the police with no option but to seek a full revocation of its licence."
When it was still The Greyhound – not run by the current management – police were called to the pub 90 times between October 2011 and April 2013 for everything from assaults to theft, suspected drug dealing and suspected under-age drinking.
It was in 2010 that bouncer Mark Brown stabbed the reveller. He was jailed for three years in 2012.
The pub reopened in 2014 as The Bond Street Tavern with new bosses then stating they wished to distance itself from previous problems.
A letter from the Licensing Authority states: "The issues raised by the police relate to drugs, knives, noise and safety of the public. This shows a blatant disregard to the licensing objectives."
Bosses at the pub were unavailable for comment.
