15 men held in drug raids

POLICE raids today saw 15 men arrested as part of an operation to crackdown on drug-dealing in Oldham.

Greater Manchester Police executed warrants at 15 addresses just after 6am.

The areas targeted were Hathershaw, Chadderton, Westwood, Alt, Werneth and Moorside, as well as addresses in Ashton.

Shotgun ammunition was recovered from an address in Cherry Avenue, Alt, and a quantity of cannabis has been recovered from another address.

All 15 men were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences, including possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

More than 100 officers were involved in the raids and included officers from the neighbourhood policing teams, Serious Crime Division, tactical aid units and dog handlers.

Officers from Oldham’s neighbourhood policing teams launched the operation, codenamed Operation Rescind II, as their response to concerns the community had that drug-dealing was a problem and leading to increasing crime and anti-social behaviour in the areas.

Extra officers from the Oldham West Neighbourhood Policing Team will patrol the area today and the next few days to provide a visible presence and reassurance to the community.

Today’s raids follow on from Operation Rescind I, in which officers raided 16 addresses in Westwood, Coldhurst and Hathershaw in March.

This was the result of months of investigations by officers from the Oldham division and Serious Crime Division into the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine.

The 14 people arrested following the raids in March pleaded guilty to various offences relating to the distribution of drugs and are due to be sentenced on August 5.

Supt Catherine Hankinson, from Oldham police, said: “Today shows that the desire to rid our communities of the blight of drugs is continuous and we will go back and keep tackling the issue in the same area as many times as necessary until the problem is dealt with.

“Residents told us that class A drug-dealing was a worry to them so we have responded robustly to combat this.

“Drugs wreck lives and the crime associated with them causes misery to the whole community, so we do everything possible to find out who is responsible and put them before the courts.

“These arrests are the culmination of hundreds of hours of work by officers to gather the intelligence we needed to take this action.”

Anyone with concerns about drug dealing is asked to call police on 0161-872 5050 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800-555 111.