Thirteen suspected members of a prolific south Manchester organised crime group have been arrested by Greater Manchester Police.

Following a four-month investigation into the activities of a suspected OCG operating in the south Manchester area, police executed a series of warrants across Manchester.

As a result, 12 men and one woman have been were arrested in connection with a string of offences, including ram raids, burglaries, and vehicle crime. The thirteen people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to handle stolen property and remain in custody for questioning.

The raids were executed under the banner of Operation Ingot which was set up to tackle the activities of the suspected OCG. Some of the victims of those crimes accompanied officers on the raids so they could see the suspected offenders being arrested and put into the back of police vans.

Cash, mobile phones and stolen property have been seized after the raids.

As part of the operation, but not directly connected to the overall investigation, a further three arrests were also made – a man for possession of a stun gun, another man for possession of drugs and a woman for assisting an offender. They also remain in custody for questioning.

Detective Sergeant Alan Hamlin said: “This operation has been four months in the making and is a result of a lengthy investigation into the activities of a suspected organised criminal network – based in south Manchester – that has been causing real heartache and misery in Greater Manchester and beyond its borders.

“These are your communities. They belong to you, not the criminal gangs who try and rule with an iron fist. I want today’s action to give residents the confidence that things are different and you can come forward. If you tell us what action needs taking, then through your local police officers and the local authority, we will take it and together we will dismantle these criminal networks.”