£350k worth of drugs recovered in raids to crackdown on Manchester’s organised crime groups

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Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has recovered £350,000-worth of drugs in raids as part of a crackdown on organised crime groups.

The force has confirmed that during the early hours of yesterday morning, officers from GMP’s Serious and Organised Crime Group executed twelve warrants across Wigan, Bolton, and Bury as part of ‘Operation Byron’ – which is one several investigations into the large-scale sale and distribution of controlled drugs in Greater Manchester.

As a result of the raids, nine people were arrested by officers on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Eight men and one woman, all ranging in age from 19 to 51 years old, were arrested and GMP says they all remain in custody for questioning.

£350,000-worth of drugs were also recovered during the early-morning raids.

“This was a fantastic result this morning with just over £350,000 worth of drugs seized as well as cash, mobile phones and drug paraphernalia from the properties we raided,” said Detective Inspector Justin Bryant, of GMPs Serious and Organised Crime Group.

£350,000-worth of drugs were recovered by police during early-morning raids / Credit: Greater Manchester Police

“Drugs feature across many different types of crime, from burglary and antisocial behaviour to criminal exploitation and modern day slavery, to name but a few [so] it’s a priority therefore for us to disrupt the drugs market through early intervention and diversion to stop this type of crime from ruining our communities.”

Inspector Bryant also explained that the ongoing Operation Byron was set up in 2021 and has already seen the team undertake “hours of meticulous work” to pinpoint offenders and build up enough evidence to be able to execute warrants.

These warrants help to “bring criminals to justice”.

Read more: GMP and Cheshire Police join forces to crackdown on fake Manchester Airport carparks

Greater Manchester Police is urging residents across the region to remain vigilant and asks that anyone who spot somethings or has information that might help take dealers off the streets to come forward by reporting it to 101 or 999 if it’s an emergency, or calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

You can also give information via LiveChat on the GMP website here.

Featured Image – GMP