Operation Topaz hailed as success after roads become briefly less Mad Max
Rochdale’s roads were momentarily dragged back from the brink of chaos this summer, as police launched a full-throttle operation to curb crime, confiscate counterfeit fags, and ask drivers politely to stop being absolute maniacs.
Operation Topaz, which sounds like a mid-budget spy thriller and not a policing initiative involving 659 confused motorists, saw officers from across Greater Manchester Police descend on the borough in July and August, armed with traffic cones, breathalysers, and a renewed sense of purpose.
In a 10-day enforcement blitz, the Rochdale district neighbourhood team joined forces with the Road Policing Unit, the Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit (TVIU), PCSOs, dog handlers, the DVLA, Trading Standards, and, possibly, Mystic Meg, to deliver “high-impact results” and slightly fewer people doing donuts outside Asda.
The stats are nothing if not ambitious:
- 659 vehicles stopped
- 25 seized for being extremely naughty
- 30,000 counterfeit cigarettes intercepted, presumably headed for a very disappointed corner shop
- 8 arrests, including one driver who tried to outrun police using the timeless tactic of “just flooring it and hoping for the best”
Police also recovered four stolen vehicles, presumably by following the trail of regret and McDonald’s wrappers, and issued 380 traffic offence reports, which may or may not end up on a fridge somewhere as a trophy.
In a shining moment of crime-fighting glory, officers seized a car packed with £7,800 worth of knock-off cigs and traced it back to a retail premises on Drake Street, which has now been closed for crimes against both the law and lung health.
Another vehicle was found smuggling cannabis into HMP Buckley Hall, proving once again that Rochdale’s criminal underworld lacks both imagination and functioning sat-navs.
Chief Inspector Nicola Hopkins praised the operation as “targeted enforcement with real results,” noting that public feedback had been “overwhelmingly positive,” particularly from residents who appreciated the novelty of seeing more police than potholes.
Local reaction ranged from “about time” to “do they also do something about the illegal parking outside Greggs?”
The operation forms part of a national effort to stop the UK’s roads from becoming an increasingly fast-paced form of urban roulette, with more wrap seizures than a music festival and fewer brakes than common sense.
Reporting from down the M62, we at the Rochdale Times advise residents to enjoy the fleeting moment of road safety, before it all goes back to normal and that one guy in a silver Astra resumes using Kingsway as his personal Formula 1 circuit.
