Last weekend marked two years since GMP’s multi-agency crime crackdown began in Cheetham Hill, once dubbed the ‘counterfeit capital of Europe’.
The area was once linked to almost 50% of the UK’s trade in counterfeit goods.
The Cheetham Hill operation is now drawing to a close. Within two years, GMP claims over 1000 tonnes of counterfeit items have been seized, and more than 200 counterfeit shops have been shut down.
Wasif Rehman, a local business owner, said: “The counterfeit goods are gone for good, they’ve done what they needed to do.
“I usually see seven or eight patrol cars every day. I’ve seen a lot of shops being raided, and landlords taken away in police vans.”
Operation Vulcan was launched in November 2022, and has made headlines since its inception. One 580 tonne seizure was believed to be one of the largest seizures worldwide.
The trade in counterfeit goods was part of a larger network of organised crime in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways.
The leader of the operation, Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood, said: “Counterfeit crime is not victimless, and the money made from this lucrative business funds an array of sinister criminal activity.”
GMP claims that 2.4 million class C drugs have been seized, alongside 400,000 illicit vapes.
Blackwood said: “We’ve seen a reduction in violent crime, vehicle crime and theft from person.”
But Rehman believes there is more work to be done. He said: “The police come in the day, but they need to come at night. That’s when a lot of the crime happens.
“I’ve seen people with knives and hammers at night. Every shop here is spending at least £100-£150 a month on security systems.”
Looking forward, the Cheetham Hill neighbourhood policing team will be phased back in, and a programme of regeneration will begin early next year.
Operation Vulcan continues its work across Manchester with ongoing work in Piccadilly Gardens.
