In the shadow of Manchester city centre, gangs of brazen drug dealers have been peddling crack cocaine and heroin in plain sight. Each day, waves of homeless people descend on the streets of Beswick and Miles Platting to get their hands on class A drugs.
The bleak reality being played out on Manchester's streets has emerged following an undercover operation to smash the gangs who were living "Love Island lifestyles", which saw 17 arrested yesterday.
Dawn raids were carried out after an eight-month police investigation into drugs being sold openly on streets between Piccadilly and the Etihad Stadium. Officers posed as drug users to buy crack and recorded the deals.
