Wakey, wakey one and haul

Greater Manchester Police make arrest as part of Operation Rescind 3.

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POLICE have made 14 arrests in dawn raids as part of a crackdown on drug-dealing in Oldham.

More than 100 officers from Greater Manchester Police stormed 10 addresses just after 6am yesterday in response to community concerns over drug-dealing which they say is fuelling crime and anti-social behaviour.

Properties were targeted in the Hathershaw, Westwood, Fitton Hill and Saddleworth areas with seven men and six women arrested on suspicion of drugs offences, including possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

Another woman was arrested on suspicion of illegally abstracting electricity.

Items seized included around £16,000 in cash and a large amount of drugs, which are believed to be cocaine and heroin.

Two vehicles, an imitation firearm and ammunition were also recovered.

Officers from neighbourhood policing teams, serious crime division, tactical aid units and dog handlers were all involved.

Extra officers from Oldham’s neighbourhood policing teams patrolled the area afterwards and will be providing a visible presence and reassurance to the community over the next few days.

It was the third in a series of operations, which are codenamed Operation Rescind, to tackle the scourge of drugs.

Previous raids saw 16 addresses targeted in March and 15 in July, after months of investigation into the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine.

Superintendent Catherine Hankinson, from Oldham Police, said: “This 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 is necessary until the problem is dealt with.

“Residents told us that 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.

“These arrests are the culmination of hundreds of hours of work by officers and our counterparts at the Crown Prosecution Service.

“We have used divisional and force resources to gather the intelligence we needed to take this action.

“It is not a quick process and we thank the community for their patience while we have been building the strongest case possible.”