Despite a chilly start, Greater Manchester will be able to bask in the sunshine today with temperatures reaching 17C this afternoon.
31.03.2022 - 19:31 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Armed police seized drugs, a stolen car and cash during the latest raids in an operation into the criminal use of encrypted mobile phones. Two alleged class A drug traffickers, aged 35 and 38, were also arrested during the operation in Oldham and Rochdale at 5am today.
Police later confirmed class A and B drugs, mobile phones, designer clothing, a stolen car and cash suspected to have been the proceeds of crime were seized as three properties were raided. Officers from GMP backed by the Regional Organised Crime Unit and armed officers executed three drug warrants at properties in Waterhead in Oldham, the Langley area of Middleton and in Lower Place in Rochdale.
The raids are the latest in a huge police investigation into the criminal use of EncroChat mobile phones.
READ MORE: Passenger stuck in Manchester Airport for nearly FOUR HOURS after flight due to queues, glitches and staff shortage
For years, the totally legal EncroChat service allowed 50,000 users around the world - 9,000 of them in the UK - to communicate in the knowledge none of their texts would be uncovered by law enforcement. It was WhatsApp for serious criminals.
That ended when investigators hacked into EncroChat's server in Roubaix, northern France, in April 2020, sending bogus updates to devices across the globe which effectively mined the incriminating data criminals wanted so much to conceal.
It prompted the hugely successful Operation Venetic, the National Crime Agency investigation into the data that has been recovered, and the GMP arm of the probe, Operation Foam. Guns, ammunition, drugs and millions in dirty cash have been seized as part of GMP's operation.
Following this morning's raids, two men remain in custody after they were arrested on
Despite a chilly start, Greater Manchester will be able to bask in the sunshine today with temperatures reaching 17C this afternoon.
The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has admitted the force were "borderline incompetent" in their handling of the Rochdale grooming gangs.
A stunning home set in an affluent area of Greater Manchester has come on the market, and it is much more than first meets the eye. Set in the village of Cheadle in Stockport, Schools Hill is a unique property that stems right back to 1887 and is an integral part of Cheadle's history.
There are going to be changes to school bus services in nine of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs, transport chiefs have announced. The new services come into effect from next Monday (April 25).
The search is on to find an unclaimed £1,000,000 EuroMillions prize from a ticket bought in Trafford.
Greater Manchester's over-stretched health service is set to be hit by a wave of patients battling a new addiction to opioids, doctors have warned.
Forty-six days on, the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. More than 10 million people have fled their homes, according to the United Nations, while another 6.5 million are thought to be displaced inside the war-torn country itself.
For more than half a century, Mick Jelley has been inspiring generations of talented boxers. A coach at Bury Amateur Boxing Club since the early 1960s, he lists former world champions Amir Khan and Scott Quigg amongst his proteges.
It's the time of year when teenagers across Greater Manchester are preparing to take their GCSEs and pondering what comes next in their education. But today The Northern Agenda reveals a 'shocking' North-South divide over where young people can enhance their life chances by taking A-Levels.
Tributes have been left over this past week in memory of loved ones in Manchester who have recently passed away.
A popular pub in Greater Manchester that comes with a two-bed flat has been put up for sale, and it is looking for an owner to give it a new lease of life. The Fusilier Pub in Ramsbottom, which branded itself a 'local, friendly pub', is on the market for £400,000.
Nestled in the depths of Greater Manchester lies a village that feels worlds away from bustling city life. Marple Bridge, in Stockport, is situated on a picture-perfect spot along its own waterway of the River Goyt.
An abusive husband who shaved part of his wife's head before throwing her beloved cat out of a window and a thug who kicked his heavily pregnant wife in the stomach and threatened to kill her are two of the criminals who have been locked up in our region this week.
After another week of showers and sunshine in Greater Manchester, this weekend will remain largely dry. Despite the bright conditions, it will still be rather chilly, with temperatures dropping to -4C overnight.
There’s a look of desperation in Angela Speak’s eyes. Sat on a bench in Bolton town centre, the single mother-of-two starts to cry. “There have been days where we’ve had no electric and we’ve had to use candles,” she says.
More than 200 visas have been issued so far to Ukrainians being sponsored to stay at homes in Greater Manchester, new figures revealed today. But the publication of the welcome statistics comes amid an ever-growing backlash over the speed it is taking to process applications, with many families in Greater Manchester and across the country claiming delays were putting lives at risk.
Greater Manchester residents can expect grey skies and rain as the gloomy weather continues well into the weekend.
Coronavirus infection rates have fallen in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. After weeks of soaring rates, the number of cases in the region is down 9pc on last week.
Salford is considered less in need of ‘levelling up’ than all other Greater Manchester boroughs - despite being one of the most deprived areas in the country.
People from every corner of Greater Manchester are being invited to start talking about the future of health and care for themselves and their families. The Big Conversation survey, which launched on Monday, March 28, 2022, is for anyone who lives or works in the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs to take part in.