Police carry out drugs raids in Bury and Radcliffe in day of action

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) carried out drugs-related warrants at the addresses in dawn raids as part of the force's Operation AVRO, which targets serious crime.

As of 2pm today, GMP confirmed 24 people have been arrested after 26 warrants being carried out, with five drug offences allegedly being committed and six weapons seized.

GMP carried out a number of raids in the borough as part of the operation, which sees officers visibly tackling a wide range of issues including drug dealing, traffic offences, and anti-social behaviour.

Officers convened in Bury town centre at 6.30am before the warrants were carried out at properties suspected to be involved in the supply of illegal drugs.

Police officers gather in Bury town centre ahead of Operation Avro (Image: Newsquest)

At an address on Thorn View in Bury, one person was arrested for suspected drugs offences. Officers conducted searches of the property, including using tools to detect heat sources which could be used in the cultivation of drugs.

Officers say warrants such as these are aided by intelligence shared with them by the public, which lead to investigations into suspected illegal activity.

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On Sefton Street in Radcliffe, another raid saw a person arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs, as part of Challenger, a GMP scheme launched to tackle organised crime.

Officers say warrants such as these are aided by intelligence shared with them by the public, which allows them to conduct investigations into suspected illegal activity.

Officers search a property in Bury with a police sniffer dog (Image: Newsquest)

Bury District Commander, Superintendent Chris Hill, said the aim of the operation was to focus on the issues that “the people of Bury have told us are really important to them".

He said: “Across the borough of Bury we work really closely with the local authority and key stakeholders and we listen to our communities.

“Communities across the borough of Bury tell us that road safety is a real issue, drug dealing is a real issue and neighbourhood crime, which is your invasive crimes such as burglary and robbery and vehicle crime.

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“Today (Thursday), we’re doing lots of warrants and that’s taking people off the street who people are telling us ‘there’s people drug dealing in that address.’"

Supt Hill said it was essentially that residents come forward if they suspect illegal activity in their communities.

He added that police are also using Operation AVRO to tackle anti-social behaviour in the borough after residents raised this as a major concern.

Police executed a series of warrants across the borough as part of Operation Avro (Image: Newsquest)

Supt Hill added: “We’re told by members of the community that anti-social behaviour is really important to them, so today we’ve got officers in Bury town centre, we’ve got officers on the Metrolink and we’re working with our partners at TfGM.”

As well as AVRO, the superintendent said tackling knife crime was a “priority” for the force, particularly after four blade-related incidents last week, including a triple stabbing near Bury Market.

He said: “ Bury is one of the safest boroughs across Greater Manchester, but we do know that young people carry knives.

“I think there needs to be some education, working with schools, colleges and parents to say ‘do you know your child might have a knife?’

“We know that sometimes, those that carry knives, the knives are taken off them and potentially used against them.

“It’s about education, it’s about working with young people and saying to them, it's not cool to carry a knife.”