Arrests made, cash seized, and criminal operations disrupted when Operation AVRO landed in Bolton

Bolton was a hive of activity yesterday with the arrival of Operation AVRO. A surge of officers converged on the town and throughout the day issued 44 arrests, recovered £80,000 worth of stolen property, and successfully seized large amounts of cash as well as suspected Class A drugs used for supply. Two large cannabis farms were also dismantled, and criminal operations disrupted as part of continued efforts to stamp out crime in the district.

Bolton is the latest town to fall under Operation AVRO after Bury, Rochdale and Oldham in previous months. It forms part of our force-wide initiative to safe-guard communities.

The day began with a public street briefing in Victoria Square, led by temporary district commander temporary Chief Superintendent Steph Parker. Shortly after, the first dozen arrests were made as officers executed warrants at properties across the borough.

The warrants also resulted in cannabis farms being discovered. Officers disrupted the operations - which were some of the largest seen in the district - and a number of plants were seized.  

It was a big win for Vinnie the police dog as well who singlehandedly sniffed out a significant amount of cash that officers seized.

Enforcement also descended on the roads throughout the day and acted on a total of 131 traffic related offences, which resulted in 5 vehicle seizures and 4 arrests.

Officers were also joined by Bolton MPs Yasmin Qureshi, Mark Logan and Cllr Mudasir Dean to support community engagement and at midday, Cllr Susan Baines could be seen alongside PCSO Holly Aimson answering questions and offering advice on crime reduction at Tesco in Horwich.

Temporary District Commander for Bolton, temporary Chief Superintendentnt Steph Parker, said: “In Bolton, Operation AVRO has seen warrants executed, suspects arrested and a whole host of community engagement events taking place with the full support of our partners here in the town and the wider support of our colleagues across the force.

“Operation AVRO is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to the people of Bolton. We are listening to your concerns and we are acting on them.

“Over the past 24 hours we have executed multiple drug and evidence warrants across the town. Speeding and dangerous drivers have been identified, targeted and dealt with appropriately.

“We have also taken action against those persons using motor vehicles illegally or in an anti-social manner. Those vehicles have been subsequently seized and removed from the streets of Bolton.

“In summary, we have focused our efforts on targeting those individuals who are causing the most serious harm to our communities. We are committed getting justice for you and the people of Bolton.”