Arrests in raid on region's 'most harmful gang'

Officers carried out raids at addresses across north Manchester, West Yorkshire, and Staffordshire

Four men have been arrested in a series of raids targeting a gang described by police as "one of the most harmful in Greater Manchester".

Dozens of officers were involved in the early morning action at addresses in north Manchester, with the operation also extending to parts of West Yorkshire and Staffordshire.

Class A drugs were recovered after being launched out of a window in north Manchester and £5,000 in cash was also seized.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the arrested men, aged 22, 21 and two 19-year-olds, were held on suspicion of conspiracy to possess a firearm.

Class A drugs and about £5,000 in cash were found in the raids

The operation was led by the force's specialist anti-gang unit, codenamed Xcalibur.

Det Ch Insp Lee Moriarty said the unit was looking for serious organised criminals.

"We suspect this group has a really significant foothold when it comes to harassment, violence and intimidation."

"We suspect them of large scale drug-dealing, money laundering and the cuckooing of addresses."

Cuckooing is a practice where people take over a person's home and use the property to hide drugs or guns.

Det Ch Insp Lee Moriarty, from GMP's Xcalibur unit, led the operation

Det Ch Insp Moriarty said the operation had involved "months of meticulous investigation", adding intelligence had come from "community sources".

"There are people out there who are really brave individuals that do provide us with information that we've acted on today."

The raids come after Greater Manchester Police said they recovered 232 illegal firearms between 2020 and 2023, including two Skorpion sub-machine guns.