A “suspected drug dealer” was arrested after police say they caught him trying to swallow wraps of cocaine and heroin.

Officers reported this week that the 42-year-old man had been stopped a few weeks ago on Battersby Street, Leigh, on Wednesday January 31.

The man was stopped and searched after police say they first saw him acting “suspiciously” in the Ince area and that they arrested him after he tried to escape on foot and swallow the drugs.

Sergeant Paul Heap of GMP’s Operation Venture team said; “This is another perfect of example of our day-to-day work to keep communities safe and catch offenders in the act.

“A positive result has removed another suspected drug dealer from the streets and enquiries are ongoing regarding this investigation to ensure we can bring justice.

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“Operation Venture was setup to ensure we could embed ourselves within areas of Greater Manchester to enable us to respond quickly and effectively and hopefully this arrest gives confidence to the local area that we are monitoring what is going on and will act appropriately when needed.”

Sergeant Heap and his colleagues say that a package they found with the man contained more than 100 wraps of what they believe to be cocaine and heroin.

They then searched a house later that same day and found what appeared to be a large hunting knife.