Multi-million 'Tiger' drugs gang thought they'd shaken cops off their tail... then their doors were smashed in

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A massive organised crime gang who trafficked millions of pounds of 'high-purity' cocaine branded with a distinctive tiger logo have been brought down by undercover cops.

A total of 16 members of the Middleton-based OCG who supplied drugs across the north of England are now behind bars after a three-year investigation by Greater Manchester Police's serious organised crime squad.

Their downfall came after cops launched '13 simultaneous strikes' on homes across Greater Manchester this summer. Det Sgt Mark Rigby described the operation as an 'exhaustive investigation' which is testament to 'years of hard work'. READ MORE: Man, 74, dies after BMW ploughs into shop in Stockport The gang's kingpins Jonathan Smith and Louis Cleworth first came to the police's attention undercover cops found they in regular contact with James Mulligan, head of the notorious Mulligan crime family from Tameside.

The day after Mulligan was arrested in October 2021, Smith went to ground. He stopped using his mobile phone and appeared to stop using his car, as it was no longer getting picked up by the police's automatic number plate recognitions systems.