Rochdale prison targeted in major crackdown on smuggling and organised crime

A major police operation aimed at curbing organised crime within Greater Manchester’s prisons, including HMP Buckley Hall in Rochdale, has led to multiple arrests and significant seizures of contraband intended for distribution inside prison walls.

The coordinated crackdown, dubbed Operation AVRO, is part of a multi-agency effort to stop the flow of drugs, mobile phones, and tobacco into local prison communities.

HMP Buckley Hall is just one prison targeted by the operation, alongside HMP Manchester, HMP Forest Bank in Salford, and HMP Hindley in Wigan.

The operation was led by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in partnership with His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) and the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Detective superintendent Andy Buckthorpe, who heads up organised crime threats for the region’s prison system, described the growing contraband issue across Greater Manchester’s prisons.

He said, “We have four prisons in Greater Manchester, and they all have slightly different threats in relation to organised crime.

“We have recently seen the prevalence of contraband coming from the community into our prison establishments, and that is one of the main reasons why we have stepped up our efforts.”

The operation has included targeted action on illegal drone deliveries that have become a key method for smuggling contraband into prisons.

In the last month, GMP intercepted multiple drones carrying prohibited items, from drugs to mobile phones, intended for distribution inside Buckley Hall and other local facilities, where prices for such items can soar to five times their street value.

GMP recently halted a drone loaded with cannabis, tobacco, suspected cocaine, MDMA, mobile phones, and pen drives on 21 September near HMP Manchester.

Officers were able to track suspects who fled but were later intercepted in Kent, resulting in the arrest of two men in their 30s on suspicion of conveying prohibited items and drug possession.

 

 

On the day of the operation, GMP and HMPPS teams conducted perimeter sweeps of Buckley Hall, deploying the GMP Dog Unit and monitoring vehicles around the prison using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology. 

The Roads Policing Unit apprehended a man in his 30s on suspicion of assisting an offender and another man in his 40s on suspicion of breaching a serious crime prevention order.

Detective superintendent Buckthorpe said: “There is a market inside the prison for controlled drugs, mobile phones, and tobacco, which, once transported inside, are worth up to five times their value on the outside.”

As part of Wednesday’s efforts, GMP officers conducted rigorous searches of staff and visitors entering each prison.

In Rochdale, officers extended their focus to community retailers suspected of supplying contraband to Buckley Hall.

After searching two addresses on Drake Street, officers seized £33,000 worth of illegal cigarettes, tobacco, and vapes believed to be destined for prisons.
 

Read more: Over £20K of illegal vapes and tobacco seized in Rochdale raidsPublished: 22 October 2024

Detective superintendent Buckthorpe praised the collaborative effort. He said: “This operation is a culmination of several months’ work to bring together each district and partners to combat and tackle the crime threat that we are seeing in our four Manchester prisons.

“At the start of October, we launched a multi-agency drugs strategy, and over the last year, we increased arrests within the top tiers of Greater Manchester’s organised crime groups by 69%.”