Liverpool raids: Organised crime crackdown sees 16 arrests

Officers raided addresses across Merseyside earlier

Sixteen people have been arrested in dawn raids as part of a city-wide crackdown on organised crime.

Merseyside Police executed warrants at addresses in West Derby, Wavertree, Orrell Park, Aintree, Knowsley and Kensington on Thursday morning.

Thirteen men aged 16 to 61, two women aged 37 and one woman, 52, were held on suspicion of a range of offences.

The force said the operation was part of its "relentless pursuit" of organised crime.

Det Ch Insp Steve Ball said: "My message to those involved in gun crime and serious organised crime is clear: Merseyside Police will never rest, we are relentless in our pursuit of those involved.

"We have worked hard over the last 18 months to reduce the number of firearms discharges on our streets and we will do everything in our power to prevent further discharges, which lead to damage to property, injury or loss of life."

He added: "Sadly, there are still a number of people who are prepared to use guns on our streets and causing harm, through the use of violence and weapons, on our streets, with little or no regard for other members of the community."

In a similar operation back in March, Merseyside Police seized a Skorpion sub-machine gun, £100,000 in cash, 2kgs of cocaine, 400 grams of crack cocaine, 4.5kg of heroin and 3.5kg of cannabis.

The firearm, which was a similar weapon to the one used in the murder of Elle Edwards, was found at an address on 2 March.

The seizure led to an offender being sentenced to five and a half years for possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a firearm without a certificate and possession of controlled Class B drugs with intent to supply.

Det Ch Insp Ball said the the Skorpion sub-machine gun, which is capable of firing 15 rounds a second, has "no place on our streets."

Police recovered a Skorpion sub-machine gun in a raid in March

Last year, there were 49 firearm discharges on Merseyside and so far in 2023 there have been 14, a 64% decrease.

Earlier this year Thomas Cashman, 34, was jailed after he was found guilty of shooting nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in her Liverpool home.

Connor Chapman, 23, who shot dead Elle Edwards outside a Wirral pub on Christmas Eve was also jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years.

"This illustrates how information from the community can lead to successful prosecutions and how the community can help us put dangerous offenders behind bars," Det Ch Insp Ball said.

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