Cops battling epidemic of Spice use sweeping through Manchester arrest 22 in latest crackdown
COPS battling the Spice epidemic sweeping through Manchester have made 22 arrests in a fresh crackdown.
Officers have stepped up high visibility and plain clothes patrols around the hotspot of Piccadilly Gardens in the city’s centre, where the drug is dealt.
The area has played host to chilling scenes that show users stumbling and slumped like zombies.
And in the past week twenty two arrests have been made there for various crimes including six for dealing the drug. Two of these have since been charged.
Inspector Phil Spurgeon from GMP said: “Spice has recently added to the challenge that we and our partners face in tackling the vulnerability, crime and antisocial issues that affect the city centre’s communities.
“We cannot allow a situation to develop where Spice takes root in Manchester city centre, especially as some of those we have caught dealing have been found with weapons.
"It is also concerning that recent testing has shown the presence of substances which leave users in a vulnerable catatonic state, often requiring medical assistance.
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“We are dedicating more resources to this issue but need the continued support of the community in reporting suspicious incidents through 101, or 999 in an emergency.”
The crackdown comes after disturbing footage taken in the city centre showed two homeless people in doped-up stupours after they smoked a new strain of the drug.
One of the users is completely passed out as he leans up against a metal shutter and seems to be slipping to the ground.
After the pair regained consciousness one of them admitted he had smoked a lethal strain of the drug.
The synthetic form of cannabis is also creating chaos inside Britain's prisons.
Prisoners were filmed passed out after inhaling Spice at HMP Northumberland as part of a .
The family of prisoner Jordan Higham, 20, released distressing images of the young man in intensive care under police guard to highlight the danger of the addictive drug.
He collapsed after taking the former legal high at Forest Bank prison in Salford.
In London, growing numbers of youngsters have become hooked on it over the past two years.
The drug, dubbed "fake weed", has caused a raft of people to suffer severe psychotic episodes, terrifying hallucinations, vomiting and even seizures.