£20,000 cash and firearms seized in Manchester police operation 2026

Key Points

• According to Greater Manchester Police, two firearms, ammunition, cocaine, heroin and £20,000 in cash were recovered following a Manchester police raid on Thursday, 29 October 2026.
• Police carried out searches of two properties in south Manchester and also stopped a taxi in the city center.
• A 60-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of committing drug-related offenses.
• Both suspects were in police custody for questioning when Greater Manchester Police issued its statement on Thursday evening.
• Police from the force’s Serious Organized Crime Group recovered half a kilogram of cocaine, half a kilogram of heroin and £20,000 in cash from one property on Nettleford Road.
• The woman is believed to have been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
• Another kilogram of cocaine was seized from another address on Walney Road in Wythenshawe.
• A taxi stop on Oldham Road led to the recovery of two firearms and ammunition which will be subject to forensic examination.
• No charges or convictions and no mention of any court hearing was mentioned in the police statement covered by Greatest Hits Radio.

Manchester Police (Manchester Mirror) October 30, 2026 – Two firearms, ammunition, quantities of cocaine and heroin, and £20,000 in cash have been seized during a Manchester police operation targeting suspected drug activity, according to Greater Manchester Police.

As reported by Greatest Hits Radio, the force said officers searched two addresses in south Manchester and stopped a taxi in the city centre on Thursday, 29 October. A woman in her sixties and a man in his thirties were arrested on suspicion of drug offences, and both were still in custody for questioning when police published the update on Thursday evening.

What did police seize in south Manchester?

Greater Manchester Police said officers from its Serious Organised Crime Group carried out a search at an address on Nettleford Road. During that search, officers recovered half a kilogram of cocaine, half a kilogram of heroin and £20,000 in cash.

The woman arrested during the operation was detained on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. Police did not name her, and the reported update did not state whether she had been charged or released.

What was found in Wythenshawe?

A second address, on Walney Road in Wythenshawe, was also searched as part of the operation. Greater Manchester Police said officers seized a further kilogram of cocaine at that location.

The force’s update, as reported by Greatest Hits Radio, did not identify who was present at the Wythenshawe address or say whether any additional arrests were made in connection with that seizure.

Why was a taxi stopped in Manchester city centre?

Later that morning, officers stopped a taxi on Oldham Road in Manchester city centre. Police said a man was detained during the stop on suspicion of drug offences.

A search of the vehicle uncovered two guns and ammunition, according to Greater Manchester Police. The force said the firearms and ammunition were recovered for forensic testing.

Have charges been brought?

No charges were announced in the police update reported by Greatest Hits Radio. The two people arrested—a woman in her sixties and a man in his thirties—remained in custody for questioning at the time of publication.

The report did not give the suspects’ names, exact ages, home addresses or any information about legal representation. It also did not state whether the firearms were believed to be operational, who owned the taxi, or whether further suspects were being sought.

What happens to the seized items?

Greater Manchester Police said the two guns and ammunition recovered from the taxi would undergo forensic testing. Forensic examination can be used to establish whether a weapon has been fired, whether it is linked to other investigations, and whether fingerprints, DNA or other trace evidence can be recovered.

The cocaine, heroin and cash seized during the searches were also recovered by police. The force did not provide an estimated street value for the drugs or explain what testing would be carried out on the suspected controlled substances.

What did Greater Manchester Police say?

The reported police update confirmed the locations searched, the items recovered and the two arrests. It said the operation involved officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Organised Crime Group.

Greatest Hits Radio reported that the seizures included “two guns, ammunition and quantities of cocaine and heroin”, while the cash recovered at Nettleford Road amounted to £20,000. The force did not publish a named officer quote in the material summarised in the report.

Background of the development

Greater Manchester Police routinely describes Class A drugs, firearms and cash as central concerns in operations against organised crime. The force’s previous public updates have described operations in which officers executed warrants, recovered drugs and weapons, seized cash and made arrests connected to suspected drug supply.

In March 2024, Greater Manchester Police said a county lines intensification week had led to 85 arrests, 49 warrants, more than £24,000 in cash seized and drugs with a reported street value of more than £70,000 across the city-region. Those seizures included heroin, amphetamines, cocaine and cannabis, alongside mobile phones and weapons.

The latest Manchester operation differs in scale and detail: the reported update concerns two address searches and one taxi stop on a single day, with two people arrested and specific quantities of cocaine, heroin, cash, firearms and ammunition recovered.

Prediction: how could this affect Manchester residents?

For Manchester residents, the operation may increase visible police activity in the areas connected to the searches—the Nettleford Road address, Walney Road in Wythenshawe and Oldham Road in the city centre—while forensic work on the firearms continues.

If the seized drugs and cash are linked to a wider supply network, residents could see further warrants, arrests or community policing activity as inquiries develop. However, because no charges had been announced and both suspects remained in custody, it is not possible to say what outcome the investigation will produce.

For local communities, the immediate practical effect is that suspected Class A drugs, two firearms and ammunition have been removed from circulation pending investigation. The case may also prompt residents with information about drug supply or illegal firearms to contact Greater Manchester Police, although the reported update did not include an appeal for witnesses.