Greater Manchester Police have arrested four people and seized an estimated £1 million worth of illicit drugs, allegedly supplied by an organised crime group, during raids across Rochdale.
Officers from Serious Organised Crime Group (SOCG), supported by the Tactical Aid Unit (TAU), executed six warrants across Rochdale on Monday (28), following six months of investigation.
The officers have uncovered what is suspected to be a dedicated drugs storage facility on Manchester Road, Rochdale.
A significant proportion of the haul consisted of prescription-type medication, alongside bodybuilding and weight-loss drugs.
The officers also discovered a list detailing more than 100 different types of drugs believed to have been supplied by the organised crime group, ranging across Class A, B and C drugs.
The police carried out three arrests in Rochdale and one in Manchester.
Three men aged 52, 51 and 23 were arrested from Rochdale, and one man, aged 44, from Manchester.
All of them were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A, B and C drugs, and they remain in custody for questioning.
During the raid, the officers seized a number of electronic devices, including over 30 mobile phones, that will now be examined as part of the ongoing investigation. They also recovered an estimated £60,000 in cash.
Detectives will now examine the evidence and conduct more searches to uncover how the drugs were being sourced, stored and distributed.
SOCG Detective Inspector Rich McCorry said: “We believe this is a sophisticated and well-established organised crime group.
"The premises we entered today were fully equipped with security measures, laptops and large quantities of drugs, indicating what we suspect was a highly organised operation supplying drugs both online and in person to customers nationally." He said further investigation will continue.
