Police found almost £200,000 stuffed inside a Cops and Robbers gambling machineduring a raid on suspected amphetamines dealers last week.
Police executed warrants to search three Salford addresses on June 3 – including properties on Westwood Crescent and Old School Court in Eccles and Mitcheson Gardens.
Officers discovered a large quantity of cash within locked safe deposit boxes, as well as thousands hidden inside an old slot machine.
£192,210 was recovered in total – alongside controlled substances packaged for supply, believed to be amphetamine.
Officers recovered almost £200k from an old Cops & Robbers slot machine in Salford / Image: GMP
One man has already admitted money laundering and drug offences and is set to be sentenced at a later date.
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Another suspect has been released whilst enquires continue.
The raids were conducted as part of GMP Salford’s Operation Naseby – a taskforce set up to tackle organised crime in the city.
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Since its inception in April 2020, police say there has been a 40% drop in firearms discharges as a result.
Featured image: GMP
Salford
Salford Red Devils supporters meet winding-up adjournment with a petition of their own
Danny Jones
Large numbers of Salford Red Devils supporters are currently rallying behind the push to remove their current ownership group, meeting yet another delay to the winding-up petition with a petition of their own: one that would see the owners kicked out of the club, full stop.
Shared online yesterday, the ‘Salford Red Devils Fans Against Jacobsen Venture Group’ (JVG) petition has amassed more than 1,000 signatures and is rapidly gaining traction.
But these supposed assurances all sound far too familiar and are clearly no longer enough for most fans. They no longer care about future investment from those currently behind the scenes: they just want them gone for good.
For context, in addition to more than £700,000 in outstanding fees owed to HMRC, the 152-year-old sporting organisation is also estimated to owe in excess of £5m to various other creditors.
As a result, after a third stay of execution earlier this week – but one that has done little more than prolong this long-drawn-out uncertainty – most fans have simply had enough.
Following up with a lengthy open letter on Wednesday evening, 29 October, the increasingly militant fan group known as The 1873 said of the potential new funding, “Let us be absolutely clear, we have heard all of this before.”
Even poking holes in the board’s own statement, noting that it suggests that “funding has been formally secured” before noting that it has not yet officially arrived.
“This kind of vague language”, they say, “is exactly what supporters have been subjected to for months: a cycle of empty promises and missed deadlines.
Helping spearhead the ‘JVG Out’ petition, leading member Nick Holt went on to tell BBC Sport Manchester that the patience and blind faith have simply run out.
🗣️ "We do not want these within our club"
Salford Red Devils' owners announced they have secured new funding to settle outstanding debts and clear a winding-up petition against them.
The 1873 went on to write: “Back in September, the same individuals told the courts that funding would arrive ‘within 10 days’. It never did. In August, at the meeting with The 1873, they claimed money would be in place by the end of that month. It wasn’t.
“Every single time, the same promise and every single time, the same failure to deliver. False hope and no real investment. It is vital [that] supporters understand what is actually being proposed. The owners are not clearing the club’s debts, including the millions they have personally run up.
“Instead, they intend to roll all debts into one high-interest loan, a move that only deepens the long-term financial hole. How do they plan to service such a loan? Next season, the club’s central distribution is set to drop from around £1.3 million to less than £100,000.”
Noting that the recent IMG grading drop and subsequent relegation from the Betfred Super League will mean a significant drop in revenues across the board, they have quite rightly asked where the higher-ups expect to find the funds to make their already heavily overdue repayments.
“Season ticket sales are expected to collapse under the current ownership”, they continue, “and major commercial sponsors will not associate with this regime.
“To claim that this ‘funding’ secures the future of a 152-year-old club is not just misleading, it is an insult to every supporter who has kept this club alive through generations.”
A petition like this and further demonstrations were guaranteed from the moment Salford Red Devils were relegated.
The impassioned response from the group signs off by adding: “The ownership’s reference to a so-called ‘strategic plan’ for a return to Super League in 2027 is beyond belief. Where is this plan? Why has it not been shared with supporters?
“At this moment, there is no head coach for 2026, no contracted players, and no football department infrastructure. To talk about a Super League return within two years is pure fantasy […] The reality is simple: This ownership group has repeatedly failed to deliver on its promises.
“It has mismanaged and misled, time and again. Every new statement only confirms how detached they are from the damage they continue to cause.”
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Most drastically, they insist that supporters will no longer “be fooled” nor continue to recognise the current ‘stewards’ failing to live up to that title by giving their own time and money to the regime, urging fellow fans to refrain from renewing season tickets, purchasing any merchandise, or attending games.
It’s a bold stance, to be sure, but it’s clear that those most fiercely loyal of supporters are looking to wrestle back control however they can; if you’re one of them, you can sign the petition HERE.
Salford Red Devils granted another adjournment over unpaid debts
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils have been given one more adjournment and yet another stay of execution, being given another two weeks to find the money to cover their unpaid debts.
The local rugby league side, which has been wrapped in all manner of struggles both on and off-pitch over the past year or so, reportedly needs to pay around £700,000 to HMRC alone and still owes roughly £5 million in total to various creditors.
To no surprise, regular matchgoers, neutrals and even rivals alike have expressed their continued disappointment with the club, mainly at the lack of transparency and clarity from the organisation throughout this long, drawn-out process.
This is coming from a wire fan but no club deserves to be left in the dark even longer than they already have done it’s nothing but a disgrace to the sport of rugby those owners and the court should be ashamed of themselves.
Updating fans on social media, this is all the information they have communicated at this time: “Salford Red Devils can confirm that HMRC have granted the club a two-week adjournment, providing additional time in which to secure the necessary funds.
“We would like to reassure supporters that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a positive resolution. Further updates will be shared as soon as possible.”
It’s worth noting that the current owners have reiterated that they inheited around £3m in existing debt before they took over the club, but assurances over their own investments have still come to nothing; meanwhile, with many still waiting on wages, players and staff alike have now left.
Having been propped up by loan players and emergency loans, the team is now closer to a skeleton crew than it is an outfit capable of competing in the premier division.
Either way, the outrage remains and is only growing stronger. One user wrote on X: “A good approach by them if they was legit would be to engage and bring in The 1873 to bridge the communication black hole (they created).
“The problem with that is if they did it would expose them for what they are… Extortionists using the club as a vehicle.”
More alarm bells were raised recently when assistant coach and Krisnan Inu – who was also director of the company set up to take over the business – withdrew himself from a key position behind the scenes.
Speaking of The 1873, the outspoken supporters trust took no time at all in issuing a response of their own, adding: “The judge presiding over today’s case has adjourned by 14 days. This adjournment has dragged the uncertainty on even longer.
“Every delay makes planning for 2026 harder and keeps the club stuck in limbo when it desperately needs clarity and direction.
“The fans, the players and the future all deserve better — The 1873.”
You can see the rest of their statement in full down below, but for now, what do you make of this seemingly neverending saga, Salfordians?
The Manc -
7th June 2021 
