Overview
- Officers from Greater Manchester Police carried out simultaneous dawn warrants on Wednesday, August 19, executing 12 searches in Bolton and Tameside that led to nine people being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
- Investigators recovered suspected Class A substances and about £50,000 in cash during the Bolton operation and found a self-storage container containing a safe, a cash-counting machine and kilogram-scale packages later identified as cocaine.
- Neighbourhood teams then carried out separate early-morning raids in Salford on August 20 that targeted move-on flats used by vulnerable people and resulted in six further arrests and seizures of suspected heroin, cocaine and cash.
- Operation Adela grew from a covert, near year-long inquiry that began in September 2025 and has yielded 36kg of Class A drugs so far, with GMP saying the suspected group is linked to the supply of more than 200kg across England, Scotland and Wales.
- Forensic testing and enquiries are ongoing, police expect further arrests and have urged anyone with information to come forward to assist investigations into storage use, cash movements and potential exploitation of vulnerable residents.