Cops have 150 new leads over failed RAF Marham ‘abduction’ bid
Six roadblocks were set up and all cars stopped and their drivers and passengers quizzed
MORE than 150 people called police over the last 24 hours with information about the two terrorist suspects who tried to abduct an RAF airman a week ago.
Today - a week after incident - officers were still questioning local and potential witnesses in the village of Marham, Norfolk close to the RAF station from where Tornado fighter jets have been carrying out bombing raids in Syria.
Six roadblocks were put up and all vehicles stopped and their drivers and passengers quizzed to see if they were in the area a week ago or saw anything unusual.
Detective Superintendent Paul Durham, of the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, who is leading the investigation: "I am pleased at the response - we have received 150 calls from members of the public, people living locally and further afield and officers are following up this information.
"The road blocks allowed us to capture people who might not necessarily live in the area but use the routes for work or leisure purposes. It was useful in identifying some drivers with dash cams and this footage has been retrieved and will be reviewed.
"We continue to make progress but it will be lengthy investigation as it requires painstaking detailed enquiries."
But as no sighting of the pair has been reported in days, it's feared they have either fled
The victim was threatened with a knife near RAF Marham in Norfolk on 20 July.
Attempts were also made to pull him into a car but he managed to fight the men off even headbutting one of his attackers.
The force says it is possible the suspects were part of a larger team sparking fears the pair may have been 'ghosted' out of the country.
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Officers were called after the victim was approached by two men while he was out jogging near the RAF base.
Police said he was on a route used regularly by personnel at the base, but was wearing headphones at the time so did not hear what the first attacker said to him.
The suspects then fled in a dark-coloured people carrier, which police are still trying to trace.
"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," Det Supt Paul Durham said.
"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."
He added there had been "no change" on how likely terrorism was seen as being a motive.
"There's still no credible evidence that supports that but equally I can't discount it," he said.
The first suspect was described as aged between 20-30, around 6ft tall, dark-skinned and with an athletic but stocky build.
He had dark hair and a well-groomed beard and wore dark casual clothing.
The other man was younger than the first suspect and had a slimmer build.
He had a similar skin tone, was about 5ft 10in and clean shaven with short, dark hair. He wore a white T-shirt and dark shorts.
There are fears the incident was a failed Lee Rigby copycat crime. The fusilier was murdered by two jihadists in 2013 outside his barracks in Woolwich, south-east London.
RAF Marham is home to four squadrons of Tornado bombers which have been flying raids against Islamic State in Syria from Cyprus.