AN undercover cop posed as a flower delivery man in a dramatic raid which smashed a £50,000 drugs ring in Bolton.

Uniformed officers were lying in wait as one of their colleagues — PC Lee Ganley — delivered a bouquet of blooms to an unsuspecting homeowner.

Once the man had answered the door, they swooped on the drugs den in Hughes Street, Halliwell.

Police eventually arrested a man and uncovered a consignment of heroin worth £1,400. They were acting on a tip-off from a member of the public.

Police often use battering rams to break down the doors of suspected drug dealers.

But on this occasion, forced entry was not an option as there were two doors at the front of the house which, if tackled with a ram, would have alerted the people inside.

So police linked up with a Bolton florist who supplied them with a bunch of flowers to help their sting.

The occupant of the house opened the door believing someone had sent flowers — but instead the caller was PC Ganley posing as a florist. Then officers struck.

Three people were searched and a large bag of heroin was recovered from one man. The half-ounce bag was worth £1,400 on the streets.

Officers also found £145 in cash, bank details, a mobile phone and packaging for splitting the half-ounce of heroin into £10 bags.

They believe heroin worth £46,200 has passed through the house in the last five months.

Insp Mo Razaq, who is in charge of policing in the Halliwell area, said: “It was going to be difficult smashing the door in as we were worried they would quickly dispose of any drugs, so this was just a subterfuge to help give us an advantage.”

One man was arrested for possession with intent to supply and has been bailed until January.

Anyone with information about criminal activities should contact the police on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.