One gun seized in police searches

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/manchester/6519759.stm

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Police recovered a gun and made 12 arrests after searching more than 200 homes as part of an operation to tackle gun crime in Greater Manchester.

The operation involved hundreds of officers and followed weeks of intelligence gathering.

Police raided 16 "key addresses" and searched a further 195 in the Moss Side, Fallowfield and Hulme areas.

Five people are being held on suspicion of possession of a firearm and six on drugs charges.

Another man has been arrested on suspicion of breaching a Crown Court Order.

The operation has been led by GMP's Xcallibre Task Force, the special unit to tackle gun crime in the city.

Supt John O'Hare said: "The scale of today's activity is huge with hundreds of people's gardens being searched.

"Most of the addresses we are searching today have not been 'raided' as such.

"Officers have simply knocked on their doors, explained why they are there and, with the owner's cooperation, searched houses, sheds and back gardens."

Police earlier claimed that many people would not know that guns could be being stored on their property.