Wigan and Stockport raids: Seven arrested as force targets organised crime

Officers seized about £40,000 in cash, large quantities of what was believed to be cocaine and vacuum-packed cannabis in Wigan

Two sets of raids have been carried out by police targeting organised crime.

Greater Manchester Police said it executed warrants in Wigan, Ince and Aspull earlier as part of an operation targeting "a county drugs line".

The force said a separate investigation saw officers raid Stockport properties "as part of ongoing work to tackle organised crime in the district".

Four people were arrested in the Stockport operation, while three were held after the raids in Wigan.

A force representative said an 18-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man and a boy, aged 17, were arrested on suspicion of selling cannabis and modern slavery offences by the Wigan Complex Safeguarding Team, while two brothers, aged 41 and 52, and two women, aged 38 and 47, were held on suspicion of drug-dealing offences by Stockport's Challenger Team.

They said officers also seized about £40,000 in cash, large quantities of what was believed to be cocaine, vacuum-packed cannabis, more than 30,000 nitrous oxide cannisters and six Brietling and two Rolex watches in Stockport, while in Wigan, the team seized "mobile phones, debtors lists and cannabis".

Det Sgt Lee Attenborough said the arrests were "part of the proactive work" the force was doing in Stockport

Det Insp Patrick Wood said the Wigan operation was the "culmination of a thorough investigation", which was "dedicated to tackling child criminal exploitation" in the area.

"Drugs supply has blighted members of this community for some time and results like today go a long way to help combat it," he added.

In Stockport, Det Sgt Lee Attenborough said the arrests were "part of the proactive work" the force was doing in the town "to ensure we tackle drug dealing in our communities and target the associated criminality and vulnerability that goes hand in hand with the drugs trade".

"The team have seized a significant amount of drugs... which would have undoubtedly caused serious harm in our community had the product made its way onto our streets," he added.

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