More than 20 arrests have been made and £250,000 worth of stolen property has been recovered in a crackdown in Bolton. 

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were out in force as part of its Operation AVRO scheme, which descends on different boroughs in a day of action each month. 

AVRO targets a range of crimes such as drug-dealing, traffic offences and anti-social behaviour.

Officers, who were deployed at key strategic Bolton locations, found cannabis farms, arrested "wanted criminals" and issued traffic orders across the course of the day.

(Image: Greater Manchester Police)

There were around 80 to 100 officers sent to carry out different tasks across the borough.

A raid was carried out in Farnworth at 6.45am on a property suspected to have Class A drugs inside.

(Image: Leah Collins)

Later in the morning a unit was raided by officers on Chulsey Street in Bolton, which was thought to contain dozens of suspected stolen power washers.

 The unit, which contained an array of cosmetics, cleaning products, gaming equipment and unlabelled boxes, was flagged to police in the West Midlands after a test buy of the power washers came back listed as stolen.

(Image: Leah Collins)

Speaking to The Bolton News, DC Duncan McNulty said: “Operation AVRO works to reinforce faith in the police from the community.

“It offers the opportunity to get deep into the criminality going on in the community.

“The force acts on information provided to us by the community. This is why Operation AVRO is so successful because its reliant on the community vying for us.

“We want to create an open channel of communication between us and the community. This operation is us extending the olive branch in order to get that going again."

(Image: Greater Manchester Police)

The force also deployed police dog Skye, who assisted officers and trading standards sniffed out counterfeit goods and illegal vapes from various properties across Bolton.

In a statement on social media, assistant chief constable John Webster said: “The team has executed three drugs warrants here this morning (Thursday).

“Three houses, all located next to one another, all of which there was a strong intelligence case that there was drug dealing activity from these houses.

“We are here to show the community loud and proud that we are acting on your intelligence provided to us on a daily basis."

Traffic officers pulled over hundreds of vehicles from Middlebrook Retail Park over the course of the day.

At least three vehicles were seized, two of which were said to have been driven without adequate insurance and one which allegedly had illegal number plates.

(Image: Leah Collins)

Another driver was issued a speeding ticket.

Starting with a briefing at 6.30am, Superintendent Ian Jones, said “Bolton has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently following disorder” and today’s action will help to remedy the areas affected.

(Image: Leah Collins)

Another warrant was executed on Coniston Avenue in Farnworth this morning resulting in four arrests and the recovery of stolen bikes.

A GMP spokesperson said: “Over the course of the day, a total of £250,000 worth of property was recovered from the areas around Bolton.

“As of right now (Thursday) a total of 22 arrests and Bolton custody is currently full of offenders from AVRO.

“Although I must stress that there’s still plenty of space across the force custody sites for the rest of the day – we’re excited to continue Operation AVRO and tackle the crimes that matter to you most.”

People can report crimes on 101 or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.