Head of police team speaks about efforts to stamp out county lines drug dealing in Wigan

Earlier this month officers arrested three people in the borough as part of a national week of action, while an operation has been running in Worsley Hall for some time.

At the helm is Det Insp Pat Wood, who has led the highly experienced detectives and police constables on Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) Wigan Challenger team since April.

He also leads the district intelligence team, which plays a significant role in piecing together information from the community, partners and officers to inform investigations and targeted action.

The team works closely with district neighbourhood and response teams, as well as the complex safeguarding hub, ensuring they can prevent offending, protect children and vulnerable people being exploited, and take enforcement action through warrants and high-visibility patrol plans.

Det Insp Wood is set to mark 20 years with the force next month, with his passion for tackling organised crime unwavering.

He said: “I joined GMP in 2003, starting out in response in Trafford. I think response is a great place to start your policing career, as no day is ever the same and you get to deal with a real broad variety of emergencies and crime types.

“I then moved into what was then known as the volume crime team within neighbourhood crime, looking primarily at robbery and burglary investigations across the Trafford district, before heading into CID deployed to a plain-clothed ‘gun and gang’ team.

“One of the big operations I worked on was one named ‘Op Viceroy’ alongside ‘Op Bank’ at the time. My side dealt with the firearms and organised crime elements, whilst the other looked at money laundering and how this was intertwined. I remember it vividly because it was one of the first areas I’d worked in where so many partners were involved in one operation, like the council, HMIC and trading standards. Having that cross-partner support was what really made it a successful op.

“I’ve always had an interest in serious and organised crime – how these people tick, how they organise their networks and recruit vulnerable people into their ranks. I’d say my experience in that plain-clothed role is what has shaped where I’ve now ended up in my career.”

Det Insp Wood subsequently held roles as a temporary detective sergeant in Bolton, detective sergeant in Salford then seconded to a shooting case, the deputy chief constable’s staff officer and finally as a detective inspector in Wigan’s main office.

He said: “Whilst our team investigate all aspects of serious and organised crime, county lines is our biggest issue due to our location.

“This is why early intervention and partnership work is so important to us, as this issue can’t just be solved by us kicking doors in and locking street dealers up, although those things remain an important part of what we do.

“The complex safeguarding teams, along with the council and early help colleagues, work together to identify children that may be at risk of exploitation, before they have been recruited into these organisations, so they can provide early intervention and positive diversion, with charities supporting too by running life courses and activity provisions in the area. The earlier we and partners can become involved in that young person’s life, the higher chance we have of successfully steering them away from the hands of criminals.

“We also recently launched the Wigan Challenger Partnership Board, run by GMP and the Community Safety Partnership. The likes of housing associations, DWP, GMFRS, Chamber of Commerce and the benefits teams are all part of this board, where we collectively share information, ideas and key issues affecting the community so we can most effectively allocate resources and properly problem solve.

“This initiative is already working well, with great feedback from the community, drug dealing incidents down across the district and public intelligence submissions up, as people can see that we are taking positive action on what they’re telling us.”

Typically, the process of dealing with county lines can be defined by “clear, build, hold” – clearing involves the arrest, charging and sentencing of those committing offences; building is focussed on supporting the community after the disruption and looking at what can be offered to prevent further offending; and holding is about maintaining the area and ridding it of the issue.

Part of the process is ensuring there is legacy for the children who have been removed from the county lines world, to ensure they do not turn to other criminal ways to maintain their past wealth and lifestyle.

Det Insp Wood spoke about some of the work being done in the borough to tackle county lines drug dealing.

He said: “We have been running a proactive operation in the Worsley Hall area of Wigan for some time now, with two dedicated weeks of action taking place in August.

“This operation’s activity, working alongside the partnership board, resulted in 14 warrants, 31 arrests, four premises shut down, seven people safeguarded, weapons including machetes, knives and a taser recovered, plus half a kilo of heroin and cocaine, and quarter of a kilo of cannabis seized from May to the start of September. Already those processed through the courts have received a total of five years imprisonment, with a further three individuals remanded awaiting their sentencing.

“The force county lines team have also recently secured a conviction of two years, four months, for Jamie Turley, who had been blighting the community running a large drug line in the area. It shows that we are successfully locking up controllers of the drug lines, who ultimately have the highest impact.”

Information on the signs that someone might be being exploited into county lines and how to report incidents or concerns can be found on Greater Manchester Police’s website.