Greater Manchester police close roads in attempt to prevent more illegal raves
Greater Manchester Police are attempting to prevent more illegal raves from taking place tonight (June 20) following incidences last weekend.
6,000 people attended two illegal raves in the area last Saturday (June 13) , during which a man died of a suspected overdose, a woman was raped, and three people were stabbed. One of the stabbings left an 18-year-old man with life-threatening injuries.
Greater Manchester Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes subsequently explained why the raves weren’t stopped, saying: “It’s not about what we allow, it’s about how we respond to things that take place.”
Now, according to the Manchester Evening News, police and council security officials have closed roads as they attempt to prevent more taking place this weekend.
The paper says the police had received intelligence that a rave was due to take place at Sand Hills park, an area of rough ground in the Irk Valley, and had closed nearby roads in response.
Now, however, it is believed that it has been moved to a bigger park, Boggart Hole Clough in north Manchester, although Councillor Pat Karney has warned that this may be “disinformation in a game of cat and mouse.”
Earlier tonight, the MEN reports that police broke up a gathering of 150 people in Angel Meadow Park, which was believed to be a “pre-party” for a so-called “quarantine rave.”
Karney told the newspaper: “At the moment it looks like police have done a terrific job. I hope that the organisers of these raves are tracked down and arrested and that the police bill is mentioned in court. These people should be paying the police bill for diverting the police in this way.”
He continued: “All the nightclubs are closed and so the drugs trade is now looking for outdoor raves and looking to people to buy drugs. These are not innocent youth club events. These are very dangerous events for people besides Covid.
“We will track down the DJs. We are checking the people who hire out generators. We’re going to check who’s hired generators. We’ll get the details of the people organising these raves.”
Earlier this week, experts predicted “a summer of illegal raves” to take place in response to easing coronavirus restrictions and the cancellation of festivals.
