19 arrested across Greater Manchester as police target suspected Bolton drug line
Officers carried out 21 warrants at 6am on Tuesday.
Police have arrested 19 people on suspicion of being involved in supplying drugs through a drug line believed to have been operating since October 2020.
Officers from Greater Manchester Police's Serious Organised Crime Group, working with colleagues across GMP, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and the Tactical Aid Unit, carried out 21 warrants at 6am on Tuesday 3rd November.
Sixteen of the warrants were in Bolton.
The rest were across Wigan, Lancashire, Salford and Manchester.
Fourteen men and five women have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs.
They all remain in custody for questioning.
What officers found
At an address on Egerton Street in Farnworth, Bolton, officers found a significant amount of drugs, believed to be crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis.
They also found weighing scales, a cannabis grinder and plastic bags.
At another address, 30 wraps of what is believed to be cocaine were recovered from a vehicle.
Police suspect the vehicle is linked to one of the drug line couriers.
The investigation
Police said the arrests follow an investigation lasting a couple of months.
They believe at least 4.2kg of Class A drugs has been moved through the line.
The men arrested are aged from their 20s to their 60s, and so are the women.
Detective Inspector Richard McCorry from the Serious Organised Crime Group said: "This morning's coordinated activity marks another significant step in our ongoing efforts to disrupt organised crime groups involved in the supply of Class A and B drugs across Greater Manchester."
He said: "We believe this drugs line has been operating for a number of years and has been responsible for distributing substantial quantities of Class A drugs into our communities. The arrests and warrants carried out today have targeted individuals we suspect are playing key roles in that conspiracy."
He said: "Drugs in any community fuels violence and exploitation and often sit at the heart of wider organised criminal activity. We are committed to identifying, disrupting and dismantling those responsible."
He said: "Our investigation remains ongoing, but we will continue to work tirelessly to protect vulnerable people and ensure anyone who is involved in this sort of criminality is arrested."