curious old fart
Well-Known Member
Looks like they've been busy in Manchester
Cannabis capital of Britain is Manchester with one plant seized by police every 10 MINUTES
51,000 plants were seized by Greater Manchester Police in 2013
Figures work out to almost 1,000 plants confiscated every week
An additional 2,900 plants were taken off the street in London last year
But the capital's population is four times higher than Manchester
Figures show GMP also seize a gram of heroin every four minutes
By John Hall
PUBLISHED: 06:18 EST, 2 January 2014 | UPDATED: 07:11 EST, 2 January 2014
Greater Manchester is the cannabis capital of Britain with almost a thousand plants seized by police every week, it has emerged.
Officers seized a staggering 51,000 cannabis plants last year, according to Home Office, with one plant confiscated on average every ten minutes.
Just 2,900 more plants were taken off the streets of London despite the capital's population being four times higher.
Greater Manchester Police made more than 9,000 drugs seizures in the region in 2012/13, including 58.9kg of cocaine a six-fold rise on the previous year.
They also seized 42kg of amphetamines and 90kg of heroin, compared with 5.5kg of heroin in the previous year.
But the biggest haul was in cannabis. In addition to the 51,000 plants seized, officers also seized 217kg of herbal cannabis and 131kg of cannabis resin.
The figures also show the force is taking a gram of cannabis resin off the streets on average every four minutes, a gram of heroin every six minutes, and a gram of cocaine every nine minutes.
The news follows a huge push by Greater Manchester Police to smash drugs networks, which has seen a series of high-profile raids on dealers.
Greater Manchester Police made more drugs seizures in total than any police force outside London.
One of the GMP's most successful ever drugs crackdowns, Operation Cairo, was launched last year and saw 45 criminals jailed for a total of 144 years in prison.
The operation was launched in Cheetham Hill because the area had become the go-to area for users across the region.
Daytime dealers were rooted out after police went undercover as addicts, using dial-a-drug numbers with nicknames like the 'Snickers Line' and the 'Snowy Line' to buy cannabis for as little as £5 a wrap.
One man was arrested earlier this year after cannabis plants worth £250,000 were seized from a house in Wigan.
And in October, five men from Greater Manchester were jailed after police smashed an £8m cannabis ring.
Police have described the conviction as 'biggest ever prosecution for cannabis supply in the UK'.
In November, police found a giant cannabis farm spread across two terrace houses in Miles Platting containing £180,000 of the potent herb.
Bosses at a leading charity that supports professionals who work in drug and alcohol treatment, drug education and prevention and criminal justice, says it is vital that funding is not cut for treatment for addicts.
Harry Shapiro from the DrugScope charity said: 'These seizures shouldnt come as any surprise as Manchester, like other cities, is a hub of the drug culture in the UK. It has been this way since the heroin epidemic of the recession in the 1980s. The culture has been fairly well embedded for some time.'
He added: 'Although overall the drug use is generally on the decline, there are still hotspots and Manchester is clearly one of those.'
'Manchester is well-served by support organisations, our main concern is over funding for treatment.'
'Local authorities are now in charge of treatment. They are under huge pressure and some are making swingeing cuts. Our concern is that this investment will start to be cut in the next couple of years.'
cof
Cannabis capital of Britain is Manchester with one plant seized by police every 10 MINUTES
51,000 plants were seized by Greater Manchester Police in 2013
Figures work out to almost 1,000 plants confiscated every week
An additional 2,900 plants were taken off the street in London last year
But the capital's population is four times higher than Manchester
Figures show GMP also seize a gram of heroin every four minutes
By John Hall
PUBLISHED: 06:18 EST, 2 January 2014 | UPDATED: 07:11 EST, 2 January 2014
Greater Manchester is the cannabis capital of Britain with almost a thousand plants seized by police every week, it has emerged.
Officers seized a staggering 51,000 cannabis plants last year, according to Home Office, with one plant confiscated on average every ten minutes.
Just 2,900 more plants were taken off the streets of London despite the capital's population being four times higher.
Greater Manchester Police made more than 9,000 drugs seizures in the region in 2012/13, including 58.9kg of cocaine a six-fold rise on the previous year.
They also seized 42kg of amphetamines and 90kg of heroin, compared with 5.5kg of heroin in the previous year.
But the biggest haul was in cannabis. In addition to the 51,000 plants seized, officers also seized 217kg of herbal cannabis and 131kg of cannabis resin.
The figures also show the force is taking a gram of cannabis resin off the streets on average every four minutes, a gram of heroin every six minutes, and a gram of cocaine every nine minutes.
The news follows a huge push by Greater Manchester Police to smash drugs networks, which has seen a series of high-profile raids on dealers.
Greater Manchester Police made more drugs seizures in total than any police force outside London.
One of the GMP's most successful ever drugs crackdowns, Operation Cairo, was launched last year and saw 45 criminals jailed for a total of 144 years in prison.
The operation was launched in Cheetham Hill because the area had become the go-to area for users across the region.
Daytime dealers were rooted out after police went undercover as addicts, using dial-a-drug numbers with nicknames like the 'Snickers Line' and the 'Snowy Line' to buy cannabis for as little as £5 a wrap.
One man was arrested earlier this year after cannabis plants worth £250,000 were seized from a house in Wigan.
And in October, five men from Greater Manchester were jailed after police smashed an £8m cannabis ring.
Police have described the conviction as 'biggest ever prosecution for cannabis supply in the UK'.
In November, police found a giant cannabis farm spread across two terrace houses in Miles Platting containing £180,000 of the potent herb.
Bosses at a leading charity that supports professionals who work in drug and alcohol treatment, drug education and prevention and criminal justice, says it is vital that funding is not cut for treatment for addicts.
Harry Shapiro from the DrugScope charity said: 'These seizures shouldnt come as any surprise as Manchester, like other cities, is a hub of the drug culture in the UK. It has been this way since the heroin epidemic of the recession in the 1980s. The culture has been fairly well embedded for some time.'
He added: 'Although overall the drug use is generally on the decline, there are still hotspots and Manchester is clearly one of those.'
'Manchester is well-served by support organisations, our main concern is over funding for treatment.'
'Local authorities are now in charge of treatment. They are under huge pressure and some are making swingeing cuts. Our concern is that this investment will start to be cut in the next couple of years.'
cof
