No-nonsense anti-woke police chief's latest action smashes gangs receiving drugs by mail order to sell on streets

Daily Mail​

30-07-2025

Gangs receiving drugs by mail order to sell in crime-blighted communities faced the full force of the law today - as part of a no-nonsense chief constable's latest crackdown.
A series of raids were carried out by Greater Manchester Police, whose boss spoke to the Daily Mail pledging a war on woke and to uphold basic standards of law and order.
Officers smashed down doors at residential addresses in the early hours of the morning and led suspects from their beds.
They also searched a serving prisoner's cell as part of their efforts to crack down on the trade.
The action took place as part of Operation Vulcan, Greater Manchester's ongoing campaign against organised criminal gangs spearheaded by the force's no-nonsense boss Stephen Watson.
This time, attention was focused on the Derker area of Oldham, where gangs have been selling cannabis in the community which they received by mail order.
Warrants were 'executed' at five homes, as well as the cell search at Oakwood prison, Staffordshire, leading to the arrests of four men and two women, who were taken in for questioning.
Supt Jen Kelly, of Greater Manchester Police, in charge of the action involving 30-40 officers who started the raids at 5am, said: 'We were responding to intelligence about quite significant amounts of cannabis being imported to sell in the area over a period of time.
'The warrants were executed at residential addresses which we believe were being used for the delivery of parcels. We found some quantities of drugs, cash and other items which will support our investigation, such as phones.'
Weapons were also discovered, including a crossbow and machete.
Today's arrests were of four men aged between 18 and 32 and a woman, 26, on suspicion of being concerned in the supply and importation of controlled drugs, and a second woman, also aged 26, on suspicion of assisting an offender.
They add to the 122 arrests already made by the Vulcan team since they began their work in Derker in March.
Previous successes in the area have included the discovery of £20,000 of cannabis after the arrest of a 17-year-old boy on a motorbike who failed to stop when requested by a police patrol.
Supt Kelly, who was at one of the addresses where officers entered this morning by smashing down a glazed door, said the team also worked with HM Prison Service to search the cell at Oakwood as they believed a serving prisoner was also part of the conspiracy.
She said police became aware of the apparent drugs mail order supply ring via a separate police initiative, Operation Concept, which involved 'working with other agencies to intercept parcels'.
The raids come after a large quantity of other evidence was gathered against suspects in recent weeks and months.
The officer said: 'People might expect an investigation into cannabis supply to involve large cannabis farms in communities but criminals use innovative methods all the time.'
She added: 'There's a misconception that cannabis is low-level but it does have a serious impact on communities in terms of the organised crime behind it, which brings fear and intimidation. The harm associated with it is really significant.'
Supt Kelly said the Operation Vulcan team chose Derker because the area has recently become 'synonymous with violent crime' and required urgent action.
Shootings, robberies, and general anti-social behaviour such as gang members riding around illegally on electric scooters had become commonplace.
'It was becoming too big a problem for local policing to tackle,' she added.
Supt Kelly said the team plan to remain in the area for the coming weeks.
'We're committed to action in Derker to see sustainable change. We're focused on targeted activity on a weekly basis and a major focus of our efforts will also be community engagement,' she said.
By the end of last year, Derker had become a by-word for everything wrong with Greater Manchester: gangs acting with impunity, 10-year-old children peddling drugs in exchange for nicotine vapes, families afraid to go about their lives.
And, perhaps worst of all, the area had become notorious for the horrific practice of 'cuckooing,' in which criminals take over the homes of vulnerable people – such as the elderly or unwell – and use them for stashing and dealing drugs. Quite simply, something had to change.
Greater Manchester Police's no-nonsense Chief Constable Stephen Watson, who has mounted initiatives targeting drug dealers, counterfeiters and organised crime gangs blighting city
Operation Vulcan has previously targeted gangs responsible for counterfeit goods sold in Manchester's Cheetham Hill district, and drug dealers around the notorious Piccadilly Gardens area of the city centre.
The effort against counterfeiters, which started in 2023, saw more than £143m of bogus goods seized from Cheetham Hill, known as the UK's counterfeit capital, 227 arrests and a 50% reduction in violent crime.
In April, the Mail met the mastermind behind Operation Vulcan: Chief Constable Stephen Watson, whose anti-woke, no-nonsense approach to policing has revolutionised Greater Manchester Police (GMP) since he took over in May 2021.
Watson's approach has included making sure his force ensures every crime report is dealt with to the highest standard.
On the ground, Watson has added an extra 690 neighbourhood coppers and made sure every crime is investigated to the highest standards. 'We're not going to turn out the murder squad just because you've had your fence kicked in,' he explained.
'But we can't be too busy not to bother with that sort of stuff.'
Since Watson took over, GMP has increased stop and search by an astonishing 392 per cent. And what's more, according to the chief, 30 per cent of those searches end in an arrest.
However, above all, it is the change in attitudes that Watson is most proud of.
'There used to be this attitude of, 'these are the things we haven't got, and therefore these are the things we can't do,' he revealed as we drove through the streets of Oldham.
'Now, our approach is, 'This is what we have got. This is what we are going to do. And we're going to do it brilliantly. We're going to do it now. We're going to do it in a way that makes an impact'.'
Such a no-nonsense approach to policing has turned an unwitting Watson into something of a poster boy for anti-woke causes. Characteristically, however, it isn't something he's paid much attention to.
He said: 'If suggesting that taking the knee in the middle of a rally is a bad idea makes me anti-woke, then I'm anti-woke.'