Another set of excellent Op AVRO results

Operation AVRO was back in Wigan with a bang on Thursday 22 June.

Eleven months after the highvisibility forcewide initiative first landed in the district, this time it included a focus on targeting cross border criminality utilising specialist resources from bordering forces.

A total of 72 arrests were made across the borough on the day, with 66 being Op AVRO specific – which is 10 more arrests than last year’s operation in Wigan.

The other arrests were part of ‘Operation Coalition’ policing on the borders.

The day saw warrants executed for a range of offences, including domestic abuse, assault and possession with intent to supply illegal drugs.

Fifteen of the warrants were conducted simultaneously.

Several weapons were seized, including a large ‘zombie style’ knife, and £5,000 worth of cash was found with a large quantity of class A drugs.

A traffic operation based in Leigh and Bamfurlong involved GMP’s Roads Policing Unit, Transport Unit and Traffic PCSOs.

A total of 186 traffic offences were recorded, including 99 for speeding. Four arrests were made and six vehicles were seized.

The six Op Coalition arrests involved a wanted offender, dangerous driving and a fail to stop.

Meanwhile, licensing officers from Trading Standards conducted targeted visits of premises of note, which will be followed up with enforcement action.

Several items were seized, including fake vapes with an estimated street value of £3,500. They were found along with class A drugs, a stolen car and a large machete, with three arrests being made at the scene.

The Wigan District Commander, Chief Superintendent Emily Higham, is extremely proud of what was another highly successful proactive operation acting on the concerns of the community.

She said: “Operation AVRO is always an exciting day for us in policing, and this time there was a joined-up approach to policing our borders.

“Having four forces come together was a great partnership and a brilliant team effort.

“It was a fantastic day in hot weather, and I’d like to thank everyone who was a part of it at Wigan for their hard work, determination and sheer tenacity to ensure that we recorded another set of excellent results.”

The arrests made led to an unprecedented number of detainees in GMP’s Custody suites - the Custody branch accepted 245 detainees that day and night.

Chief Superintendent Richard Timson said: “I would like to thank our Custody staff for their sheer hard work in managing such a large number of detainees over a 24-hour period. It was a tremendous effort by all.”