Thousands of illegal vapes seized during blitz on crime across the city

Thousands of illegal vapes worth almost £40,000 have been seized in Manchester during a blitz on crime. Operation Avro, a monthly day of police action which takes place in each of the region's boroughs, returned to the city recently.

Officers made 47 arrests, seized drugs worth more than £100,000 and recovered a similar amount in suspected dirty cash during the course of Thursday (September 14). Dodgy illicit vapes worth £38,500 were gathered as part of the crime crackdown, alongside Manchester's trading standards team and Operation Vulcan, the officers who have focused on 'counterfeit street' in the past year.

Meanwhile, police clocked 282 traffic offences across the city including 210 speeding offences - with the worst offender caught travelling at 96mph in a 50mph zone on Wilmslow Road. Eighteen vehicles were seized on the day, while three arrests were made for traffic-related offences.

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Superintendent Paul Walker, commander for the City of Manchester at Greater Manchester Police, said: “Avro utilised officers from across Greater Manchester and managed to secure impressive results across the board. We focused on arresting wanted people, executing warrants as a result of intelligence received from the community and targeting those who use our road networks for criminality.

“It was a successful day full of public engagement with our officers and I want to thank our team and the wider public for their continued support.” Officers executed 20 warrants across Manchester during Operation Avro on