Drugs, guns and £30,000 in cash have been seized during police raids across Greater Manchester today (Friday).
Seven men have been arrested and are being questioned on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs.
The raids are the latest following the hacking of secret 'EncroChat' server in northern France which was used by big-time criminals all over the world to communicate beyond the reach of law enforcement.
For years, the totally legal service allowed 50,000 users around the world - 9,000 of them in the UK - to communicate in the knowledge none of their texts would be uncovered by law enforcement.
That ended when investigators hacked into EncroChat's server in Roubaix, northern France, in April last year, sending bogus updates to devices across the globe which effectively mined the incriminating data criminals wanted so much to conceal.
By November last year more than 1,000 suspects have been arrested in the UK alone and £54m in cash, 77 guns, and two tonnes of drugs were seized in the first wave of investigations.
In Greater Manchester alone £1.7m in cash was seized alongside 15 kilos of cocaine, two kilos of heroin, two kilos of cannabis, 70 kilos of amphetamines and 500,000 ecstasy tablets.
The haul increased still further at 6.30am today when Greater Manchester Police executed search warrants at seven addresses in Stockport, Ardwick and Disley as part of Operation Foam.
During the raids seven men, aged between 28 and 62, were arrested on suspicion of a conspiracy to supply class A drugs. They all remain in custody for questioning.
The searches uncovered a large quantity of suspected class A and B drugs, two firearms, ammunition, high value items including watches and handbags, and an estimated £30,000 to £40,000 in cash.
Following this morning's operation, Superintendent Marcus Noden, of GMP's Stockport division, said: "Today's action is the culmination of many months of meticulous and thorough investigative work and these arrests and seizures are testament to the skill and dedication put in by all officers involved to help disrupt serious organised crime.
"The detrimental impact of serious organised criminal activity does not just impact those involved but can be felt across communities and GMP is committed to identifying this activity and ensuring those responsible face the appropriate justice.
"Our work will continue but we want to highlight that often our investigations are supported by intelligence passed to us by members of the public so I would encourage anyone with information that could assist on enquiries to get in touch with police."
Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 0161 856 2795. Alternatively, details can be passed on anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
