Police have revealed the reason why armed police descended on Penryn on Sunday afternoon and surrounded one of the town's pubs.

As previously reported by the Packet, residents of Broad Street were shocked to look out their windows to see police officers in balaclavas holding guns.

A number of police cars also blocked access to the road.

Officers were seen "pointing guns at The King's Arms" according to witnesses.

Now the Packet can reveal that the operation was part of a drugs raid that began 70 miles away in Plympton, two days earlier.

A police spokesperson said that officers searched a property on Eight Acres Close, Plympton on Friday and discovered a large quantity of suspected cocaine. A 37-year-old man from Plympton and a 20-year-old man from Stoke, Plymouth, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possessing the Class A drug cocaine with intent to supply and both were released under investigation pending further enquiries.

Falmouth Packet:

Police cars block access to the road. Photo: Fiona Campbell-Howes

The spokesperson said: "Firearms officers subsequently conducted an operation at The King’s Arms pub in Penryn, Cornwall, on Sunday, May 24, to locate and arrest a suspect they believed to be linked with the discovery of the suspected drugs in Plympton."

A 23-year-old man from Plympton was arrested in Penryn on suspicion of possessing a Class A drug – cocaine - with intent to supply, along with possession of a Class B drug, cannabis.

He has been released on police bail until August 19 pending further enquiries.

Pub landlord Nate Foster, who runs The Kings Arms with Elkee Brooks Mills, said the first they were aware of what was happening was when they returned from delivering Sunday roasts to the community.

Falmouth Packet:

A police officer mans the road. Photo: Fiona Campbell-Howes

He told the Packet on Sunday: "At the moment I can't say much. We're OK, we're safe, and so is everybody else living here.

"We haven't done anything, it's a completely separate incident.

"When we came back from delivering our roasts, which we do every Sunday, they were just here. We weren't on the premises when they arrived."