It’s the crack of dawn and the family of a suspected drug dealer is woken by the sound of their front door being smashed open by police. After a search, officers realised the man they are after is not inside, they rush to their fleet of unmarked vehicles and make their way to another home in the area in search of their suspect.
The two properties were part of three raids carried out this morning by the GMP's Force County Lines Team in Rochdale.
READ MORE: Man killed by falling tree was working as a traffic warden
Code-named 'Operation Frosty' their goal was simple. To apprehend a man they suspect is responsible for supplying drugs across Rochdale and collect any mobile phones or illicit drugs to help with their investigations.
With investigations ongoing, the team were able to arrest a 29-year-old man suspected of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. They also recovered a £100,000 worth of suspected Class A drugs at another address in neighbouring Bury. All in a day's work for a group of officers put together just six months ago.
Back in April GMP were given extra government cash for three years to create a squad to take down county lines drugs gangs. Making them the fourth force in the country to get Home Office funding specifically to tackle the drugs trade that exploits vulnerable children and adults.
Detective Chief Inspector Claire McGuire said: "It was a good morning, it's regular business in terms of the new county lines task force that's been set up.
"The county lines team are there to identify and target those suspects who are running the drug lines and to stop them exploiting children and the vulnerable and shut those supply lines down.
"It's a really good result for the team and it shows the public that GMP are serious about tackling this drug type and we're really focused on stopping drugs harming our community. We talk about drugs fuel serious violence and exploitation in the community and we need to work really close together and be relentless in our work against that."
Read today's top stories here.
READ NEXT:
- Boris Johnson urged to stand for Prime Minister as race kicks off to find Liz Truss' replacement
- Disabled army veteran slams path that's 'bane of his life'
- A day of chaos: Liz Truss bows out after just 44 days in office with Boris Johnson planning remarkable return to No 10
- Woman tried to set neighbour's flat on fire after decade long dispute
- Man asks popular restaurant to write 'Will you marry me?' inside PIZZA BOX in proposal to girlfriend
