Bolton: Police arrest 33 people in town

Thirty-three people have been arrested and thousands of illegal cigarettes have been seized in a day of action by police and trading standards officers.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Bolton Council officials raided properties across the town on Tuesday.

The council said in one shop, the teams uncovered a hidden "improvised hydraulic lift system full of illegal tobacco products".

Officers also seized about 40 one-litre cans of nitrous oxide.

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A secret "improvised hydraulic lift system" packed with illegal goods is found by police

The raids were part of a joint operation targeting crime in local communities in Greater Manchester.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said "hundreds of extra police officers and staff" had taken part in the action, which was aimed at "tackling the crime and disorder that matters to the people of Bolton".

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said the action had included raids on shops by officers from "immigration, trading standards and police", which had targeted those "selling products to our children in our communities that are going to harm them".

He said there had been "lots of positive results in relation to those shops".

He added that the operation was about GMP "getting on the front foot, responding to community need and putting us back to where we belong".

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The operation targeted shops in Hulton and Farnworth and saw drivers across the town subjected to speed and vehicle checks.

The force said among those arrested were a man suspected of running a cannabis farm and another man who was held on suspicion of having a "bladed article".

A council representative said police dogs had also helped locate more than 4,000 "illicit cigarettes", with one dog identifying a car near one premises which had "a boot full of nitrous oxide and illicit tobacco products".

Ch Insp Justine Topping said officers and partners had worked hard "to achieve excellent results" and thanked the local community for "making the day a success".

A council representative said it had worked closely with GMP to tackle "the issues that matter most to our communities".

They said authority staff had played "a vital role" in the "enforcement action".

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Police raid finds secret lift hidden behind wall. Video, 00:00:22Police raid finds secret lift hidden behind wall

Bolton Council

Greater Manchester Police