News

Two police officers assaulted by ‘suspected drug dealer’ in Piccadilly Gardens

The incident happened during 'high visibility patrols' in the city centre yesterday afternoon.

Emily Sergeant - 7th February 2024

Two police officers have been assaulted by a “suspected drug dealer” during targeted patrols in Piccadilly Gardens.

It comes after officers from ‘Operation Vulcan’ – which is Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) 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 – worked alongside local neighbourhood officers to conduct ‘high visibility patrols’ in the city centre greenspace yesterday afternoon (6 February).

During the targeted “crack down on criminality” in Piccadilly Gardens, GMP says a man – who was “suspected” to be a drug dealer – assaulted two officers as he attempted to flee the scene.

Despite his attempts to make off, the man was subsequently arrested by police on suspicion of possession with intent to supply, as well as on two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

He remains in police custody for questioning, GMP confirmed.

In the midst of all of this, officers on the scene also managed to recover 31 wraps of cocaine, and three snap bags of heroin from the suspect.

Inspector Dan Cullum, from GMP’s Operation Vulcan team, called yesterday’s Piccadilly Gardens crackdown a “great result”, but said the aggression shown towards officers during the incident was “unacceptable”.

“Drugs cause an untold amount of harm and disruption in our communities,” Inspector Cullum said, “and so removing this many wraps of cocaine and heroin from just one individual is a great result.

“Our staff work tirelessly day in day out to drive out the criminality from Piccadilly Gardens and work to safeguard those who are at risk of exploitation, but each day they are often faced with volatile individuals and put into difficult situations.

“This type of behaviour is unacceptable and we will continue to remove these type of people from our streets.”

Inspector Cullum has reissued an appeal to the Greater Manchester public, and asked that anyone who has any information about drugs in the Piccadilly Gardens area, or the wider Manchester city centre, get in touch with police to report it.

“Through a combination of hotspot patrolling and community intelligence, we’re able to make a real difference in the area,” Inspector Cullum concluded.

Read more:

• GMP vows to clean up Piccadilly Gardens after concerning rise in ‘anti-social behaviour’
• Man suspected of robbing a pensioner in Piccadilly Gardens arrested after being found hiding in a wardrobe
• Designers appointed to transform Piccadilly Gardens into a ‘welcoming public space’

Anyone with any information can contact police on 101, or via the reporting section of the GMP website at gmp.police.uk, or alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Featured Image – GMP