40 arrested in Oldham drug raids as £1m cannabis farm found

Police smashed through doors across Greater Manchester this week, arresting 40 people and shutting down 20 drug lines in a major crackdown on county lines gangs. The raids hit Salford, Oldham and south Manchester, with officers seizing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cocaine, cannabis and ketamine.

The biggest find was a £1m cannabis farm hidden in an industrial unit on Gardner Street in Pendleton. Police discovered multiple growing rooms with tampered electrics that put nearby homes at risk of fire. Six men aged 20 to 42 were arrested there, with five now facing charges.

In Oldham, officers raided a house and business linked to a local drugs line. The suspect tried to flee out the back but was caught by officers waiting outside. Several more arrests followed at other addresses across the town as part of the same investigation.

Another drugs line dealing in ketamine, cocaine and cannabis was shut down after raids in Northenden and Salford. Three men and one woman were arrested, with substantial amounts of class A and B drugs, phones and cash recovered. Four people have been charged so far.

Police say community intelligence was crucial to the operation's success. Detective Sergeant Gareth Bannister warned that cannabis farms aren't harmless-they fund organised crime groups that bring violence and exploitation to neighbourhoods. Deputy Mayor Kate Green added that county lines activity preys on children and vulnerable adults, grooming them into criminal activity.