Eight suspects have been charged following a series of raids aimed at taking down an "untouchable" drug ring.
Two hundred officers from Cheshire and Merseyside police forces teamed up on Wednesday morning to execute 14 warrants across Runcorn, Widnes and Liverpool. Operation Raid's strike phase resulted in 13 arrests, including two men produced from prison.
The suspected organised crime group (OCG) is alleged to have controlled heroin and crack cocaine supply in the Murdishaw neighbourhood in Runcorn. A huge convoy of police vans set off from Cheshire Constabulary headquarters in Winsford while it was still dark before hitting the doors at 6am.
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Cheshire Police has now charged eight suspects with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs crack cocaine and heroin.
Six were due to appear at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court in Warrington today: David Keegan, 51, of Nortonwood Lane, Runcorn; Samantha Bushell, 35, of Mooring Close, Runcorn; Stephen Redmond, 21, of Talisman Close, Runcorn; Anthony Pike, 52, of Hitchen's Close, Runcorn; Darren Garbe, 22, of Fenton Green, Liverpool; Zackarey Rizzotti, 20, of St Andrew Road, Liverpool.
The following two defendants’ cases are listed for tomorrow at the same venue: Scott Doran, 34, HMP Altcourse; and Marcus Pike, 21, HMP Altcourse.
The remaining five defendants have been released on conditional bail.
Eight of the 13 suspects were men and five were women, all aged between 20 and 52 years.
A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said the charges relate to alleged county line drug dealing between Cheshire and Merseyside.
The raids followed a six-month investigation, and have been supported by the Home Office “Clear, Hold, Build” pilot scheme, which is aimed at achieving sustainable improvements and making vulnerable neighbourhoods more resilient to the chance of drug dealing.
Speaking on Wednesday, Chief Inspector Andy Blizard, of Runcorn Local Policing Unit, told the ECHO the OCG believed itself to be “untouchable” and that it “ran the locality” as he urged residents with any concerns to make contact with the police on 101.
In a separate statement, Merseyside Police said the full set of arrests included a 22-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman in Speke, and a 20-year-old man in Anfield.
Merseyside officers also arrested a 21-year-old woman in Widnes.
Detective Inspector Gary Stratton said it had been a "successful morning" for targeting suspected drug supply.
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