Two men have been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs after police seized over 20,000 prescription medicines from one of their addresses.
Greater Manchester Police said that on September 21, neighbourhood officers in the City of Manchester district attempted to engage a man who was “acting suspiciously” on Park Crescent in Rusholme.
Read more: Cornwall pharmacy loses £5k in card machine scam
It said the man was detained after trying to flee and was found to be “in possession of a considerable amount of drugs”.
The man, in his twenties, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs and remains in custody for questioning.
Diazepam, pregabalin and tramadol
Officers then searched the man’s address, where they found a “significant amount of prescription drugs and £2,300 in cash”.
Greater Manchester Police said it believes that “more than 20,000 prescription drugs” were being stored at the address, including diazepam, pregabalin and tramadol as well as cannabis and ecstasy tablets.
It added that a second man, also in his twenties was later arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs and remain in custody for questioning.
Read more: Over 90% of pharmacies say police response to crime is ‘insufficient’
The City of Manchester district’s chief inspector Rob MacGregor called the arrests “a great example of our neighbourhood officers proactively patrolling local communities”.
He said that “following the initial arrest, officers recovered a substantial quantity of suspected illegal drugs and, through further enquiries, seized what is believed to be more than 20,000 prescription tablets along with cash from an address linked to the investigation”.
“Our investigation remains ongoing and I would encourage anyone with information about drug-related activity in their area to report it to us,” he added.
Read more: Three sentenced over pharmacy prescription drug theft
It comes after 93% of pharmacies that reported criminal incidents to the police in the last year said the police’s response was “insufficient”, according to an NPA survey published this month.
And it follows a pharmacy in Cornwall losing £5,000 in July following a suspected scam involving chip and pin devices.
