Hundreds of prescription drug pills, including pregabalin, seized by police
A huge amount of prescription drugs have been removed from the streets of Manchester.
Hundreds of tablets were found by police on Harris Street in the downtown Strangeways area.
The seizure off Bury New Road in Cheetham Hill included boxes marked with pregabalin – a prescription drug used to treat nerve pain and anxiety.
It has been linked to a growing number of deaths in England and Wales – and the Manchester Evening News previously reported that tablets were widely sold on city streets, with the area around Bury New Road and Strangeways on the outskirts of Manchester city center being a hotspot.
There are concerns that pregabalin is increasingly being used among the homeless and drug addicts in the inner city.
Police said the seizure was part of a dedicated operation – codenamed ‘Cranium’ – to tackle the street sale of prescription drugs only in north Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police shared an image which they said showed only part of the drugs found.
Boxes labeled flucloxacillin, an antibiotic, and zopiclone, a type of sleeping pill, were also revealed, along with blister packs of nitrazepam.
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
No arrests were referenced by force.
In a Facebook post, GMP Manchester North said: “While proactively patrolling this weekend a large amount of controlled drugs were found on Harris Street in the Strangeways area of Manchester.
“Officers from the local Neighborhood Team carry out regular patrols as part of Operation Cranium – a dedicated investigation into the illicit supply of prescription drugs only in areas of North Manchester.
“The photo is just a few of these found tablets.
“If you are the owner of these, please contact us, we could have a chat.”
Last year pregabalin was linked to 344 deaths in England and Wales – 60 in the North West alone.
No other details were revealed.
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