Another 18 illegal shops have been shut down and over £6 million worth of counterfeit clothing has been seized by police.
Although a series of raids towards the end of February this year prompted Greater Manchester Police(GMP) to claim that “the end of counterfeit street” was closer than ever before, the Easter period has historically been one of the busiest times of year for shops selling illegal goods.
This is why the force says it has used “relentless action” over the last two weeks or so to target the illegitimate premises.
As part of the ongoing ‘Operation Vulcan’ – which is GMP’s mission to crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods and hit the finances of the gangs operating out of the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas of Manchester – a total of 18 shops have been shut down in 14 days, and over £6 million worth of counterfeit clothing has been seized.
GMP says this is “a huge loss of earning for the nefarious shop owners” and means millions of pounds have been removed from the criminal market.
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Dilapidated buildings littered with rat urine and faeces, dangerous homemade electricity, hidden weapons, and shops without proper means of escape are just some of the things police say they have encountered within the past couple of weeks.
Everything seized by police during the raids is soon be sent off to be repurposed and recycled, according to GMP, and will be turned into items to benefit the wider Manchester community – including coats, hats, insulation, and even energy for houses.
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Police shut another 18 ‘counterfeit street’ shops and seize £6m worth of fake goods / Credit: GMP
GMP says it will continue to target the remaining illegal premises.
“We have been relentlessly targeting these illegitimate shops, but we are aware of the few remaining units who are attempting to operate in the area,” explained Inspector Andy Torkington – one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers.
“We will be targeting these premises imminently and our investigations will continue as we seek out and arrest those involved [as while] we are seeing excellent progress in the area, and the feedback from the public has been overwhelmingly supportive, there is still more to be done.
“The criminality has been embedded into the area for decades, and we’re under no illusion that five months of relentless action will solve it.
“But these results show great strides in the right direction.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Chester Zoo announces return of its £10 tickets for limited time only with extended opening hours
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced the return of its popular £10 tickets deal for a limited time only.
You may remember that earlier this summer, Chester Zoo invited people from across the North West to visit for just £10, and as the offer proved so popular, they’ve now brought it back again for a limited time.
For the past three years running now, Chester Zoo has officially been named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews, and now as the summer draws to a close, you’ll get to see exactly what makes it such a special place worth visiting for a cut price.
With the offer only applicable to afternoons this summer, Afternoon Tickets allow entry to Chester Zoo from 2pm onwards – with the last entry being one-hour before it closes.
Chester Zoo is offering £10 tickets to visitors this summer / Credit: Chester Zoo
Without this offer, standard admission tickets to Chester Zoo usually cost up to £38 for adults, £37 for students, and £28 for children, all including a 10% donation to the zoo’s conservation efforts, while babies and carers go free.
So it really is worth making the most of these limited-time £10 tickets while you still can – with the offer now running until 6 September.
The best bit about the offer returning? The zoo is currently operating its extended opening hours until 6pm too, so included for the bargain price of a £10 ticket, you’ll even get to see all the animals while the sun goes down.
Afternoon tickets are only available online and must be booked in advance to claim the £10 offer.
Tickets can only be purchased online before 4pm on the day of your visit, and standard admission tickets can be purchased from our ticket office at the main entrance.
Find out more and book your £10 tickets online here.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Manchester Airport releases statement after customer data stolen in ‘targeted’ cyber security attack
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has released a formal statement after data was stolen from 8.7 million customers in a ‘targeted’ cyber security attack yesterday.
Manchester Airport Group (MAG) – which operates Manchester Airport, Stansted, and East Midlands Airport – said the cyber security incident happened at around 1pm yesterday (Thursday 27 August), and that the data seized from 8.7 million customers included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations, and postcodes.
The data that was stolen related to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings, and in-airport WiFi sign-ups, MAG stated.
It was initially confirmed that the system the hackers accessed did not hold customers’ bank or payment details, however, and that all other regular airport operations and customer parking continued uninterrupted.
Manchester Airport has now released a formal statement to reassure customers that they are taking the matter ‘extremely seriously’.
The statement reads: “Manchester Airport Group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party.
“A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities, and at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”
MAG insisted that the incident had not resulted in any ‘operational disruption’, adding: “Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.
“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously, and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
Emily Sergeant -
10th April 2023 
