Cannabis worth £6 MILLION seized by police in Manchester

Cannabis worth £6.1 million was seized by police in Manchester during a two-day operation, with nine people arrested in total, it has been revealed. British Transport Police said officers targeted 'key' railway stations across Manchester on Monday and Tuesday last week.

The force said 'intelligence' also led to a search where a quarter of a tonne of cannabis was recovered from an address in the Manchester area.

Two men and a 17 year-old, who cannot be named because of their age, have now been charged, added a BTP spokesperson as details of the operation codenamed 'Blume' were confirmed.

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Craig Tomlinson, 50, of Duchess Court, Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, was charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis. He appeared before magistrates and was remanded in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court next month. Xiaowu Chen, 56, of Stadium Drive, Manchester, was also charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis. He, too, was remanded in custody to appear at the same court on the same date.

BTP also said a 17-year-old from the West Mercia area was charged with possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine and possession of criminal property.

The force said Operation Blume was led by British Transport Police's specialist 'county lines' taskforce supported by Greater Manchester Police and the City of London Police's dog section. Plain-clothed officers and knife arches were also used.

The BTP spokesperson said nine people were arrested and 45 stop searches conducted over the two days, with three addresses searched in Manchester, Rochdale and West Mercia.

A knife and £30k in cash were also seized, while two children were identified and referred to safeguarding services. A seperate adult was also safeguarded at an address in the Manchester area.

Detective Superintendent Craig Payne said: "This was a hugely successful operation which once again demonstrates the effectiveness of our specialist county lines taskforce is dismantling and disrupting criminal networks and protecting young and vulnerable people from harm.

"Our dedicated team works across the whole rail network every day tackling this exploitative activity and is pivotal in intercepting the supply of drugs and making safeguarding interventions to protect vulnerable people from ruthless gangs.”

County lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated. mobile phone lines or other form of 'deal line'.