Moment armed police detain man who 'didn't know' he had grenades in rucksack

22.02.2022 - 17:15 / dailyrecord.co.uk

This is the moment an unwitting man was arrested by armed police as he attempted to cycle away from a crime scene with a rucksack full of hand grenades.

Graham Wellings was swooped by officers who forced him off his bike before restraining him on the ground and finding two grenades in his bag.

Nearly 400 residents of Gorse Hill in Stretford had to be evacuated as part of a large two-day police operation which busted a cocaine, heroin and cannabis supply racket.

The army's bomb disposal squad was also called in to safely dispose of the explosives, Manchester Evening News reports.

Mr Wellings was cleared of all charges following a trial, with the 56-year-old telling jurors he thought he had been handed cannabis as opposed to any kind of weaponry.

Mr Wellings was cleared of all charges after a trial, after he told jurors he thought he had been handed cannabis, not grenades.

Others face lengthy sentences after admitting their roles in the drugs and guns gang.

Mr Wellings' trial heard how the police operation had started with a search of garages beside Milton Court on Tuesday January 26, last year, and continued for the rest of the week, with raids in some of the flats themselves.

As the police activity continued, Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Nathan Morgan, the outfit's boss, had become increasingly paranoid.

Morgan, 37, called a member of his drugs gang, Gary Davies, on the nearby Lakes estate. Davies' flat at Derwent Road boasted an industrial drugs press and he was a central figure in the class A drugs supply operation.

At the behest of Morgan, Davies summoned Mr Wellings, who at one time lived at Davies' flat, and handed him an empty rucksack and a bike, the court had heard.

Mr Wellings cycled across Stretford to