TACKLING ORGANISED CRIME IN BURY

Operation Revoke is already helping to ‘make Bury a much safer place to live and work’.

The newly formed operation is dedicated to tackling organised crime and the associated vulnerabilities in the town.

It is a ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ approach to fighting organised crime in Moorside, combining Bury’s Challenger organised crime team with a new dedicated Revoke enforcement team (pictured).

Clear, Hold, Build seeks to clear the area of an organised crime group (OCG), hold the location so that another gang cannot take its place and, ultimately, help build the community.

Further Clear, Hold, Build initiatives will take part in areas of Bury, which is a high demand town for police and partners, and has seen OCG-based violence over the years.

Areas which are affected by low income, high unemployment, low education and poor health are often paired with high crime and anti-social behaviour levels. As such, targeting crime within these communities is vital.

In its first six weeks Operation Revoke saw 62 people arrested, class A and B drugs with a street value of £566,000 taken off the streets and approximately £150,000 in cash seized.

In addition, 53 stop searches were conducted – with approximately 25 per cent of them ending in a positive result – 15 vehicles were seized and 17 warrants were executed.

Firearms have also been seized.

On day one of the operation officers arrested two prominent OCG members in possession of £52,000 in cash and a large amount of cannabis.

On Wednesday 7 June the Revoke Enforcement team, supported by GMP’s Tactical Aid Unit and officers from other districts, executed seven continuous warrants across Bury.

By lunchtime that day nine men had been arrested and brought into police custody on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.

Detective Chief Inspector John Charlton, of the Bury district, said: “This has been a big operation to get off the ground.

“A lot of dedicated officers have worked tirelessly, supported by staff from force units, and we are delighted with the returns we posted in the first six weeks.

“At the start of June we managed to charge eight of the nine men we arrested, with three counts of conspiring to supply cocaine and heroin, money laundering and supplying a controlled drug (cocaine).

“We have a lot more planned –our work has only just begun! –but we have already begun to make Bury a much safer place to live and work.”