Five people arrested after a police ‘army’ raids travellers site
FIVE people were arrested when a caravan park was raided by police in a huge crackdown on a burglary and car theft ‘crime network’.
Dozens of officers swooped on Roch Vale Caravan Park, off Liley Street, the official designated site for travellers in Rochdale.
An ‘army’ of police officers travelled in a huge convoy to launch the raid on Wednesday.
Liveried GMP cars and vans were seen swarming up St Mary’s Gate on their way to the site.
At one point, the vehicles appeared to cover the entire length of the busy dual carriageway as rushhour drivers moved out of the way.
Police gathered at an rendezvous point outside Rochdale town hall in an unprecedented show of force before the raid.
From there and with sirens blaring at 8.30am, the convoy made its way to the caravan park, as the police helicopter also circled in the skies above.
A witness whose kitchen window overlooks St Mary’s Gate and the Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre said: “It was like an army moving in. I counted at least 25 vehicles. It’s not something that you see everyday.
“They came from the town hall and out of the police station.”
Three men, a woman and a teenage girl are now being questioned by police after the Wednesday morning raid at the caravan park, which is the official designated site for travellers in the borough.
The operation - codenamed ‘Marzipan’ - was part of an ongoing investigation into burglary and a car theft ‘crime network’, police said.
Search warrants were executed on six caravans during the raid and several cars and storage units were also searched.
Other witnesses reported police with specialist equipment searching static caravans and even underground drains.
Police said two men – aged 55 and 20 – were arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
A 35-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of the same offence, while a 52-yearold man was held on suspicion of burglary.
A 15-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of cannabis cultivation. All five were being questioned in police custody on Wednesday.
Divisional officers from Rochdale and from GMP’s Specialist Operations branch carried out the strike, alongside members of the force’s Tactical Aid Unit.
GMP said the operation ‘followed months of collaborative hard work by our officers who are dedicated to dismantling crime networks which gain from inflicting misery on communities’.
Another witness told the Observer: “There were about 20 police vans and the Tactical Aid Unit here. The crime scene investigators were at the top of the site earlier as well.
“Police were spread out all over the site and they were looking in different static caravans. I saw them look in a couple of bins and they were looking underneath the caravans and in the street grids as well.”
Chief Superintendent Neil Evans said: “We have five people currently in custody being questioned by officers and this investigation is still very much ongoing. I want to thank officers for their hard work over the past few months as well as support from partners and the community. GMP is dedicated to tackling crime and breaking up networks that benefit from illegal activities. We will continue to do all we can to identify criminals and protect the public.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.