10 held in drug swoops

A further 9 people have been arrested in raids as part of an operation to target drug dealing in Oldham.

TWO more people were arrested as part of police raids to tackle drug dealing in Oldham.

A total of nine men and one woman were arrested yesterday as officers swooped on nine address in Chadderton, Limeside, St. Mary’s and Clarksfield, as well as an address in Blackburn, as part of Operation Rescind IV.

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

Officers seized a car, a large amount of cash, class A drugs, an imitation firearm and two samurai swords.

Officers from Oldham’s neighbourhood policing teams launched the operation in response to concerns the community had that drug dealing was a problem and, in turn, increasing crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

The raids follow three previous raids where officers swooped on 16 addresses last March, 15 addresses in July and seven addresses in November.

To date 50 people have been arrested for drugs offences.

These arrests came after months of investigations by officers from the Oldham division and Serious Crime Division into the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine.

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

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