Passengers on a London bus watched in horror as armed police detained a man who was filmed with three giant knives stashed in his bags.
Footage taken by a witness on the top deck shows how the scene unfolded in front of shocked commuters at a bus stop on Monday afternoon.
The video shows armed police searching the man's belongings while he waits by a wheelie bin on Barking road.
One of the police officers opens the bags to reveal three machete-type blades inside plastic wrapping.
Footage of the video has been shared more than 17,000 times on Facebook. The incident is not thought to be terror-related.
Barking Road, in Plaistow, has been the scene of several disturbances in recent days, one of which saw the street placed on lockdown as police rushed to control a major affray.
Police were called shortly after 2pm on Monday to a man reportedly in possession of three large knives who had boarded a bus travelling down Barking Road, he said.
“The man was identified and monitored by police prior to his arrest at around 2:35pm on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons. Three large knives were recovered,” said the spokesman.
“The man has been taken into custody at an east London police station.”
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