An undercover police operation in Piccadilly Gardens has led to 24 “alleged drug dealers” being arrested.
The arrests were made during the early hours of yesterday morning (14 May) as part of a huge operation “to tackle drugs supply in Piccadilly Gardens”, as well as forming part of Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) ongoing ‘Operation Vulcan’ – which was launched in September 2023, and is a mission to crackdown on organised crime, the sale of counterfeit goods, and hit the finances of the gangs operating out of the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas of Manchester.
Almost 300 officers from across the force executed 23 warrants at addresses across Greater Manchester as part of the operation yesterday morning, and in total, 22 men and two women, all between the ages of 18 – 45, were arrested.
Arrests were made on the suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
The successful arrests come after officers from ‘Operation Vulcan’ have been running an undercover operation in Piccadilly Gardens for the last six months, alongside specialist officers from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU), and their high visibility patrols.
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#OpVulcan | Undercover operation in Piccadilly Gardens leads to 24 arrests.
For the past six months, we've had undercover police in Piccadilly Gardens. You might not have seen then, but they will have seen you.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) May 14, 2024
“You may be used to seeing our Operation Vulcan team in uniform, but what you won’t have noticed, is the undercover officers in and amongst the suspected criminals,” GMP admitted in a statement following yesterday’s arrests.
All those arrested currently remain in police custody while officers search their houses.
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So far, GMP has seized almost £10,000 in cash, and hundreds of snap bags of drugs, as well as having recovered several crucial mobile phones and sim cards.
Detective Sergeant Matt Donnelly, from GMP’s Operation Vulcan, described yesterday’s action as a “huge operation”.
24 ‘alleged drug dealers’ arrested following undercover GMP operation in Piccadilly Gardens / Credit: GMP
He continued: “We know how deeply the drugs trade impacts our communities, and the violence and depravity it brings with it, which is why we have launched such a major operation to tackle it.
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“By arresting 24 people, I can confidently say we have dismantled and disrupted several different county lines and local drug networks. But we won’t be complacent, and this should be a warning for anyone who thinks criminal activity is welcome in our city.
“We want to make sure criminals are living a life of high anxiety, and I hope that anyone who considers coming to Piccadilly Gardens to deal drugs is constantly looking over their shoulder.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Appeal launched to find the owner of live chickens found at Creamfields festival
Daisy Jackson
The hunt is on to find the owner of a pair of chickens who were discovered at Creamfields festival.
The two birds were spotted on the grounds of the huge electronic music festival by bewildered festival-goers.
The cockerel and hen were trapped in a hedge, after it appears they wandered onto the festival campsite before the security barriers were installed.
The birds then found themselves trapped inside as around 70,000 music fans poured into Cheshire for a line-up that included Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, and Tiësto.
The chickens have been safely rescued from the Creamfields festival site and are recovering at a wildlife centre, and now the RSPCA is on a mission to find their owner.
Festival-goers first called the RSPCA on Saturday 29 August to alert them to the cockerel and hen trapped inside the festival, one of whom assisted in the rescue mission.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper: “I was surprised that they were inside the festival site and I needed to get through the road blocks and security before reaching them on foot through muddy fields. I met the caller who helped me as they were just running up and down the hedge line where there was a wire fence blocking access.
Where the chickens were discovered at CreamfieldsThe RSPCA wants to track their owners down
“We managed to guide them out and I caught both of them with my rescue net which was a bit of a sight for the festival campers.
“I don’t think they were abandoned and they’re more likely to be stray because it’s farmland all around the festival site. They don’t have any health issues, apart from being quite underweight.
“With the fences going up a week before the festival starts they’d probably been unable to get out for some time and had been left foraging in the hedge. Someone mentioned that a third bird was also trapped, although we couldn’t find any others.
“I am really grateful to the festival-goer who found them and alerted us to their plight.”
Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
Emily Sergeant -
15th May 2024 
