Officers reinforce commitment to tackling drug dealing in communities after 16-year-old left in critical condition

We reinforce the commitment to tackling the supply of drugs in communities, not just in the City of Manchester district, but also wider across districts in Greater Manchester after an incident has left a teenage girl fighting for her life.

At around 7.30pm on Tuesday 30 April 2024, we were called by our colleagues at the North West Ambulance Service in relation to a concern for welfare of a teenage girl in an alleyway on Wilbraham Road in Manchester.

The girl,16, was taken to hospital by emergency services where she remains in critical condition.

A 21-year-old female was arrested on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs. She has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Inspector Bree Lanyon of GMP’s City of Manchester South Neighbourhood Team, said: “We understand the worry this is causing our local community, and further afield across Greater Manchester, we also share this concern.

“Through collaborate partnership work, we are tackling the issue of drugs head-on with an unwavering determination shown by officers and staff in neighbourhood teams who work tirelessly to investigate and then disrupt this type of crime.

“We use a range of tactics through proactive problem-solving policing to combat drug dealing, we aim to create safer neighbourhoods not just in our district but across the region by removing as many drugs as possible from our streets, and by doing this, it will undoubtedly make our area a safer place to live, work and visit. Dismantling these criminal enterprises and stop drugs from reaching our streets in the first instance is a step in the right direction.

“Not only do we tackle these issues head on, we also believe that prevention plays an important role in the supply of drugs in our areas. We do this by visiting schools and hosting community talks and warning people of the dangers of engaging in this type of criminality.

“But we need your help, a lot of our work rests on public intelligence that is submitted to us, who in the community is dealing drugs, who is acting suspicious - please let us know.

“The information that comes to us could be key to removing dangerous drugs from our streets, and can also be used to support search warrants carried out where drugs are seized and destroyed therefore taken off our streets.

“We urge anyone with information about drug dealing in your area to report it to us online on Live Chat or by calling 101.” Information can also be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”