POLICE have seized more than £2 million of drugs from Bolton’s streets and taken more than £700,000 cash from suspected criminals., Officers have carried out 271 drugs raids since the the Bolton Residents Against Drugs (BRAD) campaign was launched in Bolton last year.

They have arrested 267 people on suspicion of a variety of offences and more than 3,000 leaflets have been handed out to residents in areas where drugs raids have been carried out to explain what is happening and to encourage people to report criminal or drug-related activity.

Officers are hoping that drug dealers come to fear the name BRAD, which is a personification of police intelligence sources.

Sgt Steve Malone of the Bolton Neighbourhood Task Force said: “I am absolutely certain that because of our efforts, there are many law abiding families across Bolton who have had their quality of life improved because of the removal of a drug dealer from their community.

“The intention of the BRAD campaign is to target and disrupt the use and sale of illegal drugs in Bolton and these figures show that the campaign has been very effective so far. We know that, by taking such a large amount of drugs off the streets, we have already caused massive disruption to the users and suppliers of illegal drugs in Bolton.

“That said, we will build on this initial success and will continue to tackle offenders through robust, hard-hitting drug operations. The idea is that if we target drug dealers it’s going to make our streets safer, because there’s a clear link between drugs and Crime.

“Dealers have got to market the fact that they’re selling drugs, but sooner or later they’re going to try to market it to the wrong person, or someone is going to hear about it and call Crimestoppers or us. It’s only a matter of time before we turn up.”

“However, there is another aspect to the operation in that we will also work with partner agencies to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs, carry out prevention work and encourage users to access support to get off drugs and out of the associated chaotic lifestyle.”

People can report crime by calling on 0161 8725050 or Crimestoppers anonymously.