Ten drug dealers arrested in 'public' Manchester raids jailed
Ten drug dealers arrested in raids watched by members of the public in Greater Manchester have been jailed.
One thousand officers raided 100 properties and arrested 75 people in the early morning raids on 6 December.
Police invited more than 130 members of the community to watch the raids from minibuses at the addresses in Salford, Manchester, Stockport and Bolton.
Ten of the 44 later charged pleaded guilty to drugs offences and were jailed at Manchester Crown Court.
The nine men and one woman all admitted supplying Class A drugs and were handed sentences of between two and four years on Thursday.
The remainder will appear in court at a later date.
Ch Supt Russ Jackson, Divisional Commander for North Manchester, said; "This operation was months in the planning and has caused significant disruption to the users and suppliers of illegal drugs in Manchester.
"I hope these sentences send a strong message to criminals in Manchester - any form of drug-related activity is simply not acceptable in any of our communities and there is significant work ongoing each day to tackle those who are involved in this trade.
"I also hope this operation has shown the people of Manchester just how seriously we are committed to this cause and with the public's help, this work will continue."
Police recovered class A drugs with a street value of £2,000 in the raids, as well as items including stolen meat.
Officers also found cannabis, jewellery and thousands of pounds in cash.
Those invited to watch the raids included residents, people from local schools, community centres, business owners and councillors.
They were invited as a chance to see first-hand how police are putting a stop to drugs activity in their neighbourhood.