Operation AVRO: Police make 72 arrests in day of action in borough

Arriving back 11 months since the high-visibility force-wide initiative landed in the borough, this time round the operation saw a focus on targeting cross border criminality utilising specialist resources from bordering forces due to its location in Greater Manchester.

A total of 72 arrests were made throughout the day (Thursday, June 22, 2023) across the borough including ‘Operation Coalition’ which was policing on the borders, with 66 coming specifically from Op AVRO, an increase of ten on last’s years results.

Policr carried out the actiomn as part of Operation AVRO

With a multi-agency briefing taking place in the early hours at the DW Stadium led by the District Commander to outline the issues that would be tackled were the ones most important to their community.

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Warrants, with 15 conducted simultaneously, included a range of offences, ranging from domestic abuse and assault to drugs around possession with intent to supply.

Several weapons were also seized including a large ‘zombie style’ knife and £5,000 worth of cash was found earlier in the day with a large quantity of Class A drugs.

Policr carried out the actiomn as part of Operation AVRO

The traffic operation based in Leigh and Bamfurlong involved GMP’s Roads Policing Unit, Transport Unit and Traffic PCSO’s, yielded more eye-catching results which offences showing drivers not wearing their seatbelts to registration checks.

Policr carried out the actiomn as part of Operation AVRO

A total of 186 offences were recorded, including 87 traffic offences, 99 for speeding which resulted in six vehicles being seized and four arrests.

On top of this, cross-border operations overnight saw an additional six arrests involving a wanted offender, dangerous driving and failing to stop.

Whilst the knife arch was placed in Wigan bus station around Operation Sceptre – the national campaign to detect, reduce and prevent knife crime.

Policr carried out the actiomn as part of Operation AVRO

The Civic Square in Leigh town centre and Market Place in Wigan saw senior executives from the local authority alongside councillors and the mayor provided the chance to show the partner agencies the close working relationship they must play in fighting and reducing crime in the area to keep the area a safe and prosperous place to work and live.

With more warrants and arrests taking place in the afternoon, licensing officers from Trading Standards conducted targeted visits to premises of note which will be followed up with enforcement action. Several items were seized including fake vapes with an estimated street value of £3,500. These items were found along with Class A drugs, a stolen car, and a large machete, with three arrests made at the scene.

Policr carried out the actiomn as part of Operation AVRO

Patrols were also conducted in Platt Bridge which also resulted in an arrest and two off-road bikes were seized from reports of anti-social behaviour at Tyldesley Rugby Club.

Chief Superintendent Emily Higham and Wigan District Commander was extremely proud of another joint forceful effort acting on the concerns of the community, saying; “Operation AVRO is always an exciting day for us in policing. What that means for our district of Wigan and Leigh is that you will see more warrants than usual being conducted and more people being arrested.

“But more importantly, we continue to work with our partners to do knife crime arches and talks to children about the dangers of carrying knives alongside closure order visits and anti-social behaviour are just some of the many activities that have taken place.”

Policr carried out the actiomn as part of Operation AVRO

She added: “We have achieved fantastic results again utilising four forces coming together to police our borders showing more great partnership work and a brilliant team effort all-round.

“You will always see a show of police strength and we are committed to act on preventing, deterring and fighting crime in our area that matters the most to you.”

Cllr Anderson, cabinet member for police, crime and civil contingencies said: “We are proud to work in partnership with Greater Manchester Police to carry out another successful Operation AVRO.

“The day of action supports the Place and Community Safety Partnerships wider, ongoing multi-agency work to tackle issues of concern in our local community. Its impressive results are testament to the significant collaborative work within the partnership.

“We are determined to make our communities feel safe and protected, and it’s great to once again see such positive results and feedback.”

Policr carried out the actiomn as part of Operation AVRO

What is Operation AVRO?

Operation AVRO is a force wide initiative that delivers extra resources and specialist officers to a different district within Greater Manchester each month after it launched in October 2021.

Since then, it has travelled around the force with the operation targeting crimes and concerns that members of the public in that district have told GMP give them the most concern.

For more information, visit: Operation AVRO | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)