Officers in Kersal for latest in series of Salford ‘action days’

Search teams surveyed the area close to the River Irwell

Officers from GMP’s dedicated operation into tackling serious and organised crime in Salford have been in Kersal this morning in the fourth of a series of action days aimed at disrupting criminal activity in the district.

It has been a month since the inception of the action days and officers have so far trawled through sites on Buile Hill Park, Weaste Cemetry and Stanton Avenue looking to recover any discarded and hidden firearms or weapons to ensure their removal from the streets.

So far, police have recovered approximately four kilograms of Class A drugs and 30 unspent shot gun cartridges, which have been submitted for forensic evidence for ongoing investigations as part of GMP’s dedicated Operation Naseby.

Today (Friday 20 November 2020)’s action comes after three firearms incidents in the past week – all incidents that aren’t believed to be linked to any previous incident or ongoing disputes.

Extensive enquiries are ongoing for each of the incidents and detectives are encouraging any members of the public with information to get in touch to aid with their investigations.

None of the incidents caused serious or life-threatening injuries but officers are keen to bring to justice each of those responsible for those incidents.

The first of the three was on the evening of Saturday 14 November on Anson Street, Eccles, where a 20-year-old man was shot at by a passing vehicle.

On Tuesday 17 November, a 38-year-old man self-presented at hospital with a gunshot wound to the hand following an altercation with an unknown man in another vehicle on Littleton Road, Kersal – the vehicle was found burnt-out on nearby Whit Lane and recovered in evidence.

Yesterday morning (Thursday 19 November) a 39-year-old man was reported to be at hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot after an incident on Cromwell Road.

No arrests have been made in relation to any of the three incidents at this stage and detectives are investigating all lines of enquiry to establish what the circumstances of each of them.

There has been an increase in high-visibility patrols in response to the incidents and the public are, as ever, encouraged to speak to them with any concerns they may have, with the knowledge information will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Since the inception of the Operation Naseby disruption hub in April, there have been 133 arrests, 120 vehicles seized and 51 house searches.

Detective Superintendent Chris Packer, of GMP’s Salford division, said: “Today’s action is a really positive continuation of some of the work that has been done, not only as part of the weapon search days, but also our wider disruption activity that has taken place this year which has seen us make some really positive strides in the battle to thwart organised crime.

“There has been a worrying increase in the number of firearms incidents in the past week and I want to assure the public that, despite none of the incidents being treated as linked at this time, we have taken this very seriously and understand the concerns members of the public may have.

“We have a team of detectives who are thoroughly investigating each of the incidents and have been working around the clock to make sure that those responsible are caught, and I urge any members of the public who may have even the slightest bit of information to get in touch with us, or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

“It has been a challenging week but we take great confidence from the reduction in incidents involving serious and organised crime this year, which have previously been a burden on the city for a number of years. However, recent events show why the police remain vigilant and void of complacency as we need to continue our positive work as a district and alongside local authority to tackle the use of firearms and weapons on our streets.”

GMP have also been working alongside partners in Salford City Council as part of Project Gulf, an initiative dedicated to tackling organised crime in the city with a view to deter reoffending as well as taking down criminal groups.

Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, praised the police action and said partnership working and intelligence sharing through Project Gulf, is as strong as ever.

“We are also working hard to keep young people out of crime. The Steer project, run by Salford Foundation was launched in Salford to provide one to one support and proved so successful it was then rolled out across Greater Manchester.

“We’ve commissioned support for ex-offenders to find work to avoid them drifting back into crime and used everything from drama to direct meetings with ex-gang members. We want to make clear to young people the reality, consequences and dangers of getting involved in crime.”

If you have any information about Operation Naseby or recent incidents in Salford, please call police directly on 0161 856 3777. Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.