MORE than £10,000 of drugs, a sawn-off shotgun and a pistol with a silencer have been seized by police.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police's Xcalibre Organised Crime Unit raided a house in Mayor Street, Bolton, on Friday and seized crack cocaine worth £5,000 and cannabis worth up to £6,000.

Another raid was carried out in Mayor Street and officers seized a sawn-off shotgun, a loaded 9mm Baikal handgun with a silencer attached and a large amount of 0.303 ammunition which can be lethal when fired even from long range.

A 52-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of possession of class A and B drugs with intent to supply and two counts of possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and a 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and possession of ammunition.

Both remain in custody for questioning.

The guns and ammunition have been recovered for forensic analysis.

The raids were carried out under the Operation Brunel banner, which is Greater Manchester Police's and the Xcalibre taskforce response to organised crime groups involved with the supply of class A drugs across Greater Manchester.

They are particularly active in Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, North Manchester and Bolton.

Operation Brunel is intelligence-led and aims to create a hostile environment for these organised crime groups to operate in.

Police are also appealing to anyone who lives in these communities who has information about organised crime to contact officers, in confidence if needed.

Detective Inspector Rick Mortimer said: "This is a fantastic result and shows the value of the hard work officers within the Xcalibre Organised Crime Unit do to stop guns from getting onto the streets of Greater Manchester.

"We also recovered a large amount of drugs that would otherwise have found its way onto our streets and caused untold damage.

"We have listened to what our communities have been telling us about how drug dealers blight their area, and we have sent a strong message that those who line their pockets by preying upon other people's addictions will be targeted.

"One more gun off our streets is an excellent result as it means one less weapon that could be used to injure or even kill someone.

"Although it is very difficult to say exactly what these guns were intended for, clearly any firearm has the potential to cause serious injury or even a fatality so to have seized both a sawn-off shotgun and a handgun before they can hurt someone is a good result."

Anyone with information should call the Xcalibre Organised Crime Unit on 0161 856 6479 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.