IT was supposed to be a one off – taking in a package sent from abroad in return for a quick cash payment to help cover the costs of Christmas.
But for the desperate mum, one parcel turned into another, and another, and the payments dropped off as the packages kept arriving – each one believed to be stuffed full of Class B .
Greater Manchester police raided the house of a woman thought to be taking in drugs packagesCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
It is believed that organised crime gangs are targeting single mums around ChristmasCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
A man was arrested at the home raided by police in Swinton, Greater ManchesterCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
Detective Inspector Mark Holt urged people who had been targeted to ask for helpCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
On a chilly November morning, a loud bang as a door flew inwards and yells of “Police stay where you are” rang out just before alarms would go off for the school run.
As armoured coppers rushed into the house, a little girl peeked through the blinds and a man stood in the kitchen blinking as he drank in a dressing gown.
Scattered across the front yard were a discarded doll’s pram, a trampoline and a play-house belonging to the three children inside who had been fast asleep until moments ago.
It’s likely that at least one of them will have been asking for this year’s must have toy – a Labubu which costs upwards of £100 in some cases.
Greater believe the mum has been accepting parcels of illegal drugs for an organised group in return for cash.
Detective Inspector Mark Holt, from Salford’s Challenger team, told The Sun: “We are aware that vulnerable people who are financially burdened, particularly at this time of year with , will be targeted.
“In the short term, taking in one of these parcels can seem lucrative. They give you financial rewards or scrap debts.
“But in the long term, once you’ve been exploited once, you will be exploited again.
“We are committed to safeguarding these victims. Our message is simple, come to us, raise these issues with us.
“We’re here to look after our communities, to look after those who are vulnerable to criminals and those who seek to exploit those who are vulnerable.”
Other vulnerable people at risk of being coerced into taking the packages are those who’ve inherited drug debts or other debts to criminals and members of the criminal fraternity.
The method of posting drugs to addresses in the UK is known as “fast parcels”. While they are mostly – often bought from the and – it can also be Class A drugs and items such as weapons,” DI Holt added.
Over the last 12 months, 3,500 crimes were recorded for marijuana fast parcel importations to Greater Manchester.
work by identifying vulnerable individuals through observation. Targets can be anyone from struggling single mums through to people who have inherited drug debts from family members.
‘Wow that was easy’
Police broke down the door of the address just before 7amCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
Allen Morgan broke down how gangs target people and then take over their addressCredit: Supplied
Allen Morgan, a Legal Expert in Drug Trafficking and Markets, told The Sun: “I see a lot of cases where organised crime gangs are identifying addresses to target to get packages sent there that have nothing to do with any of the gang.
“It’s easy to get someone to take a one-off delivery in the run-up to Christmas. They might offer £250 say for a package to be sent, and they’ll come collect it. The person taking the delivery might think ‘wow that was easy’ but then they might start to get cold feet.
“Once the OCG has your address, that’s when the coercion starts as they will to put pressure on the person to not let them down.
“You might be told the packages are cannabis, but it could be anything. Police might come and find it’s a kilo of cocaine or firearms – you have no control over your home any more.
“One of the worst things I see is when people are asked to do a particular task and the drugs are lost, then all of a sudden it’s a case of “you owe me” from the gang.
“There’s no fixed repayment system and the debt can keep mounting. The debt isn’t forgotten until that person is arrested, because that makes them unusable as they’re on the police radar.
“People think about the swift financial gain without considering what will inevitably go wrong.”
The Sun watched as cops stormed into the family home, which they then searched before bringing out a man in handcuffs – leaving the mum inside with her kids.
Nationwide issue
Greater Manchester Police arrested Matthew Johns for importing cannabis from the USCredit: Greater Manchester Police
Johns had posted parcels from the US back home to Greater ManchesterCredit: Greater Manchester Police
Northamptonshire police seized 31kg of cannabis with a street value of £315,000,Credit: Northamptonshire Police
In the last year, GMP have seized more than 2,800 packets of cannabis en-route to Greater Manchester, weighing in at over 2,700 kilograms.
In July, The Sun joined GMP on a raid where for their roles in fast parcel schemes – including a delivery service worker.
The gang had imported at least 27kg of cannabis, worth £1.5million in street value.
Separately, last month, Matthew Johns, of Lords Street, Irlam in Greater Manchester, was jailed for eight years for his role posting weed packages from the USA to addresses in Bury.
Each of the five packages had 0.95kg of cannabis, and Johns had been in the US at the time each parcel was sent to the UK.
It’s a problem across the country, with detecting 1.5tonnes of cannabis being sent through the post in the first quarter of 2025.
Similarly, Police seized £300,000 worth of the Class B drug parcels from the US in a in Kettering after staff raised the alarm.
And now the trade is seen as an easy income stream for gangs who want to keep a cash flow, experts say.
Allen said: “Gangs will do anything to turn a profit and in the last two years fast parcels have become increasingly common.
“But they’re more of a side hustle than the main event, as it’s lucrative. The cannabis market is a fixed, constant market. Over here American strains like Cali Weed have become really popular and that makes it marketable so they need to get it over here.
“The demand makes it attractive to supply.”
Sisters caught up in trade
Destiny Conolly was caught running a drugs racket alongside her sister ParisCredit: Destiny Connolly/ Cavendish Pres
Paris Connolly was involved in the preparation and sale of Class A drugsCredit: Cavendish
Jack Harrison has since been jailed for drugs offencesCredit: Cavendish
In October, sisters Paris and Destiny Connolly narrowly avoided jail for their part in a mail order drugs scheme which saw them involved in the preparation and sale of Class A drugs.
They were caught out after a kilo of cannabis with a street value of around £9,000 was delivered in three vacuum sealed parcels to the neighbour in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
At the trial in Minshull Street Crown Court, it was claimed that the siblings had initially been coerced into the venture by Jack Harrison – who has since been imprisoned for drug offences.
The girls were handed two-year suspended sentences.
Major supplier
Cops searched the house for drugs which they believed had been sent thereCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
They also refitted the door for the woman who still had kids insideCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
has become the biggest source of marijuana supply to the rest of Manchester, leading the cops to launch their “Buy Now, Pay Later” campaign to stop residents being exploited by gangs.
Speaking after the warrant in the Swinton area of Salford, DI Holt said: “These gangs will look for the most vulnerable people in society to target.
“That includes, undoubtedly, young single mothers, also those in financial difficulties and people who might have limited capacity.
“Taking in a parcel of cannabis is a violation of the , that’s what the law says. We know that any illegal substance comes with it a wide and varied range of criminality that it is linked to.
“We know that the availability of the online space that is seeing this method becoming more popular.
“People are going to buy their Christmas shopping online, it was only a short amount of time before people started buying their drugs online. That’s the reality of the society we live in.
“Cannabis is very much illegal in the UK, that’s what our legislation says.
“My message to people who get approached is, report it to the police, we’re here to look after you.
“That is the very core of our mission, to safeguard the people of our communities, to investigate and to solve crime and to respond to those incidents. So please report, report these issues to us.”
Gangs are opting to use addresses that have no clear connection to themselves in a bid to “stonewall” the cops.
Allen said: “When houses, like this one, get raided, the OCGs will just find another address to use because it helps firewall them from detection by the police.
“The reality is that cops will struggle to shut down that supply line. Cops getting involved is just an inconvenience for gangs, if they’ve already collected say ten shipments, the profit has been made.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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