Four Charged After £1m Drugs Raid In Rochdale 2026

Key Points

• Six raids were carried out by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) on 28 September 2026 after a six-month inquiry into allegations that a large number of drugs had been supplied illegally.
• The police found what was allegedly a specialised drugs storage room in Manchester Road where the value of the seized drugs is believed to be £1 million.
• A total of £60,000 in cash, over 30 mobile phones, a number of laptops and other electronic devices have also been recovered.
• Four men have been charged: Jalil Ahmed, aged 52, and Shakil Ahmed, 23, both from Twinegate, Rochdale; Shakil Ahmed, aged 51, of Whittaker Lane, Rochdale; and Raja Adeel Farooq, aged 44, of Kingsway, Manchester.
• The first three men are charged with conspiracy to supply Class A, B, and C drugs, supplying medicine products and money laundering; Farooq is facing the same charges along with conspiracy to supply a firearm.
• The four men appeared before Tameside Magistrates’ Court on 29 September where they were remanded into custody with another hearing scheduled on 4 November at Manchester Crown Court.

Rochdale Crime (Manchester Mirror) October 05, 2026 – Four men have been charged following major police raids in Rochdale that uncovered an estimated £1 million worth of drugs and led to the seizure of cash and electronic devices.

Officers from GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group (SOCG), supported by the Tactical Aid Unit, carried out six warrants across Rochdale on Monday, 28 September, as part of a six‑month investigation into the suspected large‑scale supply and distribution of illicit drugs. During the operation, police discovered what they believe was a dedicated drugs storage facility on Manchester Road, where vast quantities of suspected Class A, B and C drugs were found, valued at around £1 million in street terms.

As reported by journalists covering the case for The Oldham Times, four men have now been charged in relation to the raids, which also saw bodybuilding and weight‑loss drugs recovered alongside prescription‑type medication. According to coverage by the Manchester Evening News, the four suspects named are Jalil Ahmed, 52, and Shakil Ahmed, 23, both from Twinegate, Rochdale; Shakil Ahmed, 51, from Whittaker Lane, Rochdale; and Rajael Farq (also referred to in other reports as Raja Adeel Farooq), 44, from Kingsway, Manchester.

What charges do the four suspects face?

Jalil Ahmed, along with the two men named Shakil Ahmed, has been charged with conspiracy to supply Class A, B and C drugs, supplying medicine products and money laundering, as outlined in reports from the Manchester Evening News and The Oldham Times. Raja Adeel Farooq faces the same offences, plus an additional charge of conspiracy to supply a firearm, according to The Oldham Times.

All four men appeared at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on 29 September and have been remanded into custody, with their next hearing scheduled for Manchester Crown Court on 4 November, as reported by The Oldham Times.

What was seized during the Rochdale raids?

During the warrants, officers uncovered what is believed to be a dedicated drugs storage facility on Manchester Road, where an estimated £1 million worth of drugs was discovered, according to The Oldham Times. In addition to the drugs, around £60,000 in cash was recovered, along with more than 30 mobile phones and a number of other electronic devices seized for examination, as noted in earlier arrest reports carried by outlets including the BBC and local radio.

Police also found a list detailing more than 100 different types of drugs they believe were being supplied by the group, including Class A, B and C substances, with a significant proportion of the haul consisting of prescription‑type medication, alongside bodybuilding and weight‑loss drugs, according to The Oldham Times and pharmacy industry coverage. Officers suspect the group was distributing drugs including diazepam, bodybuilding products and weight‑loss medications across the UK, as reported by the BBC.

How did the investigation unfold?

The operation followed six months of “meticulous detective work” by GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group, which culminated in the execution of six warrants across Rochdale on 28 September, according to a GMP news release summarised by local and regional media. Although one of the properties searched off Manchester Road appeared to be a residential address from the outside, officers said they discovered vast quantities of suspected drugs inside, with one location believed to have been used as a drug safe house, as described in BBC and Oldham Times reporting.

Three arrests were initially made at four addresses in Rochdale, with a fourth arrest at an address in Manchester, before all four men were later charged, according to early reports from the BBC and subsequent updates from local newspapers.

What have police said about the scale of the operation?

Greater Manchester Police described the seizure as part of an investigation into the suspected large‑scale supply and distribution of illicit drugs, with the haul estimated at around £1 million, as set out in their public statement and echoed in media summaries. GMP said Class A, B and C drugs as well as prescription medicines were being stored and distributed on “a significant commercial scale”, according to industry coverage citing the force.

Officers from the Serious Organised Crime Group, supported by the Tactical Aid Unit, carried out the coordinated warrants, reflecting the force’s focus on disrupting organised crime networks involved in drug supply, as outlined in multiple reports.

Background to the Rochdale £1m drugs raid development

The Rochdale £1m drugs raid forms part of a wider pattern of police action against organised crime groups suspected of using residential properties as fronts for large‑scale drug storage and distribution in Greater Manchester. The identification of a property on Manchester Road as a dedicated drugs storage facility highlights how such addresses can be used to stockpile significant quantities of controlled substances, including prescription‑type medication, bodybuilding products and weight‑loss drugs, according to police and media accounts.

The six‑month investigation by GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group indicates that the operation was not a spontaneous crackdown but the result of sustained intelligence‑led work, culminating in coordinated warrants across multiple addresses in Rochdale and one in Manchester. The recovery of a list detailing more than 100 different types of drugs, alongside large amounts of cash and communications devices, points to a structured supply network rather than low‑level dealing, as suggested in reporting by The Oldham Times and the BBC.

Prediction: how this development could affect Rochdale residents and local communities

The Rochdale £1m drugs raid is likely to affect Rochdale residents and local communities primarily through increased visible police activity and heightened awareness of organised drug supply operating from ordinary‑looking addresses. In the short term, people living near the raided properties on Twinegate, Whittaker Lane and Manchester Road may experience more police presence and inquiries as investigations continue, according to the pattern of similar operations reported in Greater Manchester.

Over the longer term, if the charges lead to convictions, the disruption of this suspected supply network could reduce the availability of certain illicit and prescription‑type drugs in the area, potentially lowering associated harms such as overdoses and drug‑related crime, as police have indicated in past operations targeting organised supply. However, experts in organised crime often warn that removing one group can create space for others, meaning sustained enforcement and community reporting remain important, a dynamic reflected in ongoing GMP operations across Rochdale and neighbouring boroughs.

For local businesses and residents, the case may also reinforce calls for stronger monitoring of properties used as fronts for criminal activity, and could prompt further collaboration between police, councils and housing providers to identify suspicious patterns of occupancy or deliveries, as seen in other recent anti‑drugs operations in the region.