Five men were arrested while high-value jewellery, a samurai sword and £2,000 cash have all been seized in a string of dawn raids across Rochdale. Officers carried out warrants across the borough this morning (March 16) as part of a major crackdown on class A drug supply across Greater Manchester, Cumbria and North Wales.
Two kilos of cocaine had already been seized during the operation before police recovered cash and items during today's raids. Four men from Rochdale, aged between 23 and 27 ,were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class
A drugs. A 57-year-old man from Rochdale was also arrested on suspicion of being part of an organised crime group. Police also made two further arrests as part of the same operation during raids outside of Greater Manchester - with a 28-year-old man from Cumbria and a 39-year-old man from Rhyl also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
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The investigation, carried out by detectives and officers from Greater Manchester Police's Serious and Organised Crime Group, continues. Anyone with information about drug supply in their area is encouraged to come forward.
Det Chf Insp Mark McDowall, from GMP's Rochdale district, said: "Today's action is a result from months of hard work by detectives who launched an proactive investigation as part of our continued crackdown on drug supply in the region which blights our local communities.
"Drugs on the streets can have a huge effect on communities and are often a catalyst for serious crime due to drug disputes and today's activity is another step forward in disrupting serious, organised crime. Our crackdown knows no borders and we are prepared to travel and arrest those believed to be involved in drug supply on our streets.
"As always, we would ask that anyone with information or anyone with concerns to contact us as we work to disrupt serious crime across the region. Intelligence from members of the public continuously helps us with our on-going investigations - no matter how small the information may seem."
Anyone with information is urged to report it to GMP online or by using the LiveChat service at www.gmp.police.uk. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
