Man arrested as police bust illegal prescription drugs racket in Cheetham Hill

A man has been arrested as part of a police crackdown on the sale of suspected illegal prescription drugs in Cheetham Hill.

Officers busted a home on Choral Grove in Salford in the early hours of this morning (Monday) and arrested the 39-year-old. He was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class C drugs, police said.

A 'significant amount' of cash was also seized from inside the home. The warrant was carried out under Operation Vulcan - Greater Manchester Police's huge crackdown on tackling organised crime in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways area.

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In July, police seized more than 500 tonnes of counterfeit goods from shipping containers at a storage unit in Cheetham Hill in what was described as a 'record haul in UK history'. In one of the containers, thousands of prescription drugs were found, police said.

Detectives have traced this back to a man in Salford. In another huge bust in August, around £2 million worth of prescription drugs were seized.

In a statement issued today, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Julien, one of Operation Vulcan's specialist officers said: "The warrant we executed in July placed Greater Manchester Police and Operation Vulcan onto the global stage with a record-breaking single seizure of counterfeit items and drugs, which highlighted the true extent of the criminality linked to the counterfeit trade which was happening on our doorstep.

"Since then, we’ve worked closely with partners to trace where these items came from, and who they belonged to, which ultimately led us to this property in Salford today.