A UK record-breaking haul of fake goods from around Cheetham Hill’s notorious ‘counterfeit street’ area has been seized by police.
As part of what is Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) ongoing ‘Operation Vulcan’ – which is a mission to crackdown on the sale of counterfeit and hit the finances of the gangs operating out of the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas of Manchester – officers set out on what was the UK’s largest police operation to tackle the counterfeit trade earlier this week.
And it turns out it wasn’t just the largest in terms of the police operation itself, as it was also record-breaking in the amount of goods seized.
It comes after search warrants were obtained following what GMP called a “covert operation” and thanks to “intelligence from the community and partners” – with a combination of over 100 police officers and multiple agencies working together to tackle their “largest job to date” and raid 207 shipping containers.
#OpVulcan | Latest counterfeit seizure in Cheetham Hill breaks UK record and ranks amongst largest globally.
Police have seized over 580 tonnes of counterfeit items, a record haul which will have cost the criminals a staggering £870 million.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) July 3, 2023
“Monumental quantities” of counterfeit clothes, drugs, illicit tobacco, Nitrous Oxide canisters, and counterfeit vapes from a storage unit to tackle their largest job to date, raiding 207 shipping containers. tucked away on the outskirts of Cheetham Hill were seized, GMP confirmed.
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Over 580 tonnes of counterfeit items were seized, which equated to a record-breaking £870 million.
Not only was this the largest seizure of counterfeit goods in UK history, but GMP says it’s believed to be one of the largest single seizures worldwide too.
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An “intensive investigation” is now confirmed to be underway by police to “trace where the items originated” and to “ensure those involved are arrested”.
Police seize record-breaking £870m worth of counterfeit goods in latest Cheetham Hill raids / Credit: GMP
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed this was the police force’s “largest raid to date”.
Detective Inspector Christian Julien, one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers, also said this latest seizure elevates GMP “onto the global stage”, and places the force in the top three worldwide for a single seizure of counterfeit items.
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“I hope that our work so far has shown the true scale of the counterfeit trade in the UK, the majority of which was on our doorstep here in Manchester,” DI Julien added.
“It’s important to recognise the serious impact of sophisticated and large-scale counterfeit operations like this, and I would like to take this opportunity to remind members of the public of its links to serious organised crime.
“It isn’t a bargain so please be under no illusions – this type of crime is not victimless.”
It was believed to be one of the largest single seizures of worldwide / Credit: GMP
He added that criminals are making “vast amounts of money” from the trade, which is being “funnelled into fuelling further criminality, exploitation, and misery”.
DI Julien went on to thank all officers from across GMO and partner agencies who came out to support the operation for “diligently contributing” to the gathering of intelligence, and the execution of the raids – adding that Operation Vulcan is a partnership effort “at its heart”.
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“This may be our largest raid to date,” DI Julien went on the conclude.
“But we must continue to build on these efforts to identify the criminal networks behind this activity whose only concern is making a profit, no matter what the cost is to the public.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Environment Agency officially declares a drought in north west England
The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in the north west of England following the driest start to spring in 69 years.
It comes after river flows and groundwater levels have been declining due to the dry March, April, and start of May, and now reservoir storage levels in the region are also receding too, meaning at this moment in time, they’re currently lower than they were during the famous drought years of 1984, 1995, and 2022.
According to the Environment Agency (EA), a decision to declare drought is taken based on reservoir levels, river flows, and moisture in the soil, along with taking into consideration weather forecasts on a long-term basis.
Declaring drought status enables the EA to ‘plan, deliver, and manage’ actions in drought plans.
The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in north west England / Credit: Pxhere
However, there is no single definition for drought, the EA admits, so while it’s a given that it’s caused by a period of low rainfall, the nature, timing, and impacts on people, the environment, agriculture, or business will vary.
Some droughts are short and intense, while others are long and take time to develop over multiple seasons.
Although there has been some welcome rain across the North West in recent days, the EA says this is ‘not enough to reverse the dry start to the year’ and is definitely not enough to cover the expected hotter weather in the coming weeks, which it believes is only set to ‘exacerbate’ the situation.
The decision by the EA to move the region into drought status means the regulator will increase its operational response throughout the summer.
It follows what has been the driest start to spring for the region in 69 years / Credit: David Dixon (via Geograph)
This will be all while ensuring that water company United Utilities steps up the actions agreed in its drought plans – including fixing leaks, communicating with customers and supporting them to reduce demand, and submitting drought permits to take more water, as and where needed.
According to the EA, if these actions are taken in a ‘timely manner’ will help preserve supplies for people and the environment.
“Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon,” explained Andy Brown, who is the Water Regulation Manager at the Environment Agency. “As we see more impacts from climate change, heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent and this poses an enormous challenge over the next few decades.
“Despite the rain over the weekend levels remain low and we are encouraging people to be aware of the impacts of drought as we enter the summer period.
“With further unsettled periods and rainfall over the coming weeks we will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Drought Plan.”
A gymnastics coach from Trafford has been jailed after being found guilty of non-recent rape and sexual assault against young girls he taught.
It comes after a woman bravely came forward to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in September 2020 to disclose the prolonged abuse she suffered at the hands of a sports coach during her youth – with the years of offending spanning from the late 1980s to the early 90s.
That coach was Michael Haynes, from the Urmston area of Trafford.
Mr Haynes, who is now 77 years old, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced this week after a four-week trial.
During the trial, the court heard how in the late 80s, one of the victims – who was 11 at the time – joined Trafford School of Gymnastics, and it was here where Haynes first sexually assaulted her by inappropriately touching her through her clothing as he was appearing to ‘help’ her with stretching exercises.
This progressed over time, and eventually turned from sexual touching to rape – with offences occurring in his vehicle whilst he was assisting the victim’s family to transport her to and from the gymnastics club.
Following these discoveries, then in December 2023, another woman learned that Haynes was to stand trial for sexual offences and bravely came forward to the police to report what happened to her when she was around 12 years old and had already been at the gymnastics school for years with Haynes.
Michael Haynes / Credit: GMP
The court learned how Haynes began inappropriately asking her about relationships with other boys her age, before proceeding to touch her leg and sexually assault her.
“Michael Haynes violated boundaries I hadn’t yet learned how to name,” the first victim tragically explained in a victim impact statement.
“I didn’t understand what had happened, or how I felt about it. I just knew something had shifted in me. Something had been taken by someone I trusted, and I carried confusion and shame for many years. I still live with the effects of what happened, but I also live with pride in who I’ve become. All you have left now is shame.”
Michael Haynes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of nine counts of rape and 11 counts of sexual assault against two girls.
Following the sentencing this week, Detective Inspector Rick Lees, of Trafford’s CID, said: “This was a harrowing investigation, and I would like to thank the survivors for their bravery in coming forward after all these years and reporting what happened to them.
“I cannot imagine the psychological effect that this abuse had on them over the years, and I hope today’s sentencing brings some form of closure and a sense of justice.”
Following the investigation, GMP said it believes there may be further victims of Haynes’ from the same time period who may have previously felt unable to come forward.
“We would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual abuse, whether it be recent or non-recent to please get in touch with us, no matter how long ago it was, we will listen to you, and we can help,” DI Lees concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
4th July 2023 
