BY LUCY CAULKETT AND JAMES SIMONS
Thirteen drug dealers have been jailed today for a total of almost 60 years following a stinging undercover operation in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Officers combed through details that involved more than 100,000 phone calls. Police went through 122,767 calls, focusing on 3,643 individual phone numbers in nailing the drug pushers.
The gang were selling heroin and crack cocaine, and were later arrested in raids across the town in January as part of Operation Trafalgar, targeting suspected drug pushers. Drug dealing is rife in many parts of Britain and indeed, the world, as the quest for fast money motivates dealers into a career riddled with risks and danger, but one that offers the promise of quick cash that make hard working 9-5 citizens look like people working for chicken feed. Dealing usually causes turf wars, robberies, which ultimately result in murders on many occasions. Most drug dealers have no other skill or trade, no academic qualifications,m and therefore very limited capacity to evaluate the impact and potential consequences of their lifestyle. Most know no better, though there are some smart ones among them whose skills or potential are simply dormant because of their refusal to put them to legitimate use. The smarter ones among drug dealers go to college or University. I said the smarter ones,(in comparative terms) not the smart ones-! No drug dealing is smart because it exploits vulnerable addicts and indirectly encourages those who rob to support their habit, to continue to do so.
Most dealers are looking for a short cut to success, but few actually make a real success of their dangerous trade in terms of never getting caught, killed, and developing something legitimate with their illegitimate money. Drug dealing is selfish, dangerous, risky, and encourages a lifestyle that distorts reality by making the dealer believe he or she is making progress when they make money, instead of realizing they are destroying lives and also moving closer and closer to the potential of being jailed like the 13 pictured above, or being killed for a number of potential reasons associated with their trade.
MASTERMIND
Great Manchester Police Tactical Aid Unit in conjunction with officers from the National Crime Agency, and neighbourhood officers in the area masterminded the swoop following tip-offs from the public and intelligence gathered by undercover officers. Detectives carefully went through several calls made by the dealers to track them down and uncovered a number of hot lines used for the dealings.
Today Greater Manchester Police said the sentences sent out a strong message to other potential criminals that they would be ‘relentlessly pursued.’
Detective Con Gabriel Gibson of Rochdale division said in a press release: “Before this operation, we had executed similar successful drug operations and removed many of the prominent drug dealers from the streets of Rochdale. Despite this, these individuals had the gall to try and exploit the void by moving in and capturing the market share of Rochdale’s heroin and crack cocaine trade.
“These men were motivated by money and have paid no regard to the ramifications of their terrible trade.
“They preyed on vulnerable people and ignored the collateral effects that drug addiction has on our society.
“I want to remind those thinking about profiting from illegal drugs in Rochdale, that in the last six years sentences have been handed out to Rochdale drug dealers and money launderers, totaling over 600 years.
