£66,000 worth of drugs seized as Challenger officers execute morning warrant

Officers have seized an estimated £66,000 worth of drugs and secured an arrest following an early morning warrant today.

Specialist members of GMP's Programme Challenger team went through the doors in a property in Pattern House, Castle Street, Stalybridge, as part of our ongoing commitment to tackling serious and organised crime.

Subsequent searches recovered approximately 1.5 kilos of suspected cocaine, with an estimated street value of £66,000. Around £20,000 worth of watches and £30,000 in cash was also seized.

A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A and B drugs, and money laundering. He remains in custody for questioning and enquiries are ongoing.

Challenger officers tackle drug distribution across Greater Manchester, and the various teams work every single day across every district to bring down criminality.

Detective Sergeant Ian Parker, from Tameside's Challenger team, said: "This was a fantastic morning for our team in taking tens of thousands of pounds worth of illicit and harmful products off our streets. Drugs in our community can cause untold harm and can lead to so many issues, from addiction to violence and worse. We will continue to tackle drug distribution and criminals should know that our Challenger teams will work around the clock to ensure that they are arrested and punished appropriately.

"Our work is greatly assisted by intelligence gathered within the community: lawful citizens who are fed up of criminality and tell us about what they've seen. I want to let them know that we will always look into reports of any nature, and it all helps in building a case against criminals. 

"If you have any information, please call 101, or report information via gmp.police.uk. Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111. And of course, feel free to chat to an officer on patrol - they will always be happy to help."