Armed cops swoop in raids to crack down on guns

'METICULOUS' PLANNING LEADS TO SPECIAL OPERATION

- NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE

By NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE BEFORE dawn breaks, a convoy of police cars quietly snake up a Moston cul-de-sac.

They halt outside a detached house, officers in black jumping the fence and speaking in hushed tones as they surround the property. Then, they bang on the door.

Simultaneously in Openshaw, just minutes from the scene of Greater Manchester's last fatal shooting, another squad are raiding a different property and the same is happening at four other addresses.

This is the result of months of 'meticulous investigations' as GMP bid to rid our streets of guns.

In Moston, a woman opens the door and tells officers she has a baby inside.

It soon becomes apparent the suspect they're after isn't in. But after the raids in Openshaw and across the north west, four people found themselves in custody before most of the city awoke.