Inside the unit hunting Manchester’s most dangerous fugitives

As he handed himself in to a Manchester police station, one-eyed killer Dale Cregan told them: “You were hounding my family so I took it out on yous. I’m wanted by the police and I’ve just done two coppers.”

The local drug dealer had spent weeks successfully evading capture as police hunted him over the gun and grenade murders of father and son David and Mark Short, who he had killed in a row between feuding families in east Manchester.

But growing tired of the tactics from Greater Manchester Police, who repeatedly raided his family home and put a £50,000 bounty on his head as they launched the largest manhunt in their history, he decided to hit back and laid a trap.

PC Fiona Bone, 32, and PC Nicola Hughes, 23, were brutally murdered in September 2012 after they responded to a bogus 999 call from Cregan reporting a burglary, who told the handler: “I’ll be waiting.”

He shot the officers multiple times, before detonating a fragmentation grenade on the women as they lay on the ground.

He was eventually handed a rare whole life order for murdering the father, son and two policewomen in a case that rocked policing and briefly reignited debate over whether officers should be routinely armed.

GMP’s leaders were also forced to defend the force from criticism for releasing Cregan on bail after he was first arrested for Mark Short’s murder and then adopting the tactic of repeatedly visiting his family while he was on the run.

It was in the wake of this scandal that the Force Critical Wanted Unit (FCWU) was born, with the sole purpose of catching dangerous criminals quickly and effectively.

Now the specialist team, one of only a handful of such units in the country, takes an average of one to three days to catch the city’s most high-risk fugitives by tracking their every movement.

“We deal with those most dangerous, hardest to find, riskiest offenders,” Detective Superintendent Joseph Harrop explained from inside their base in Ashton-under Lynne, where he heads up the force’s activities to tackle serious and organised crime.

“It’s generally murders, firearms offences, or other offences where we think they’ve used a firearm, or likely to have access to firearms.”

Each day GMP, the country’s second largest police force, has hundreds of people it wants to track down, but only the most dangerous are looked at by the FCWU.

Once they have adopted a target, the team – made up of an inspector, two sergeants and around eight police staff – use what they describe as ‘reverse victimology’ to build a profile of the suspect.

They then deploy a range of techniques, tracking their spending, phone activity and known contacts to find them and bring them into custody as rapidly as possible.

“It’s about understanding their footprint, who their associations are,” DS Harrop added. “What’s the financial footprint, what’s the social media presence? Who are the partners? Do they have multiple partners? We will try and exploit a weakness.”

Given the cases they take on are classed as offenders who pose a high risk to the public, this often calls for covert activity and the team has access to 24/7 surveillance capabilities.

Inside an observation room, detectives watch monitors with multiple cameras trained on key locations linked to their targets.

Once a suspect has been located and their identity has been confirmed the team may deploy to make an arrest – although often this is led by firearms command.

Last year the team made a record 114 arrests, with many wanted for murder or firearms offences.

Unit leader Detective Inspector James Coles, who was one of the first officers on the scene of the murder of PCs Bone and Hughes 12 years ago, describes the FCWU’s work as “the sharpest end of the sharpest sword in policing”.

He will run a manhunt from inside an operations room known as the “green room”, where surveillance teams, firearms command and other units will work together until a suspect is brought in.

“The reason for our success as a unit is not because we’re any better or worse than any other police operation, it’s that we do it a lot,” he told The Independent.

“By doing it a lot, we practice our techniques and tactics very well. We don’t have any magic tools that other forces don’t have we just do the basics really, really well.

“Human beings have patterns of behaviour and it’s interesting when you observe them with close scrutiny…we can kind of predict their behaviour. This is the most effective and most impressive team I have ever worked with.”

The unit, whose members include an ex-marine and several with military experience, are experts in phone analysis and social media investigation and are trained in hostage negotiation and advanced driving.

The reactive nature of the work means team members can clock up to 70 or 100 hours of work on a busy week as well as covering an on-call rota for kidnap cases.

“So every, every day, we get a summary of all the major incidents within GMP,” DI Coles added. “So I read them, deciding whether or not I’m going to be able to have dinner with my wife.”

After a 17-year-old was blasted with a shotgun in front of terrified mothers and their young children in Stretford in August 2023, the FCWU was deployed to find the gunman.

It took the unit less than 24 hours to track down suspect Ethan Deas, 18, after investigators found his father had paid for an Airbnb in Salford. The team began surveillance of the apartment block and armed police were deployed when they spotted the teen going inside.

Deas, who was later jailed for ten years for causing grievous bodily harm in the revenge shooting, tried to flee the tenth floor flat by dropping down into a teenage girl’s 16th birthday party on the floor below, but was captured by the team.

“It’s psychologically exhausting being on the run,” he added. “Anyone you have loved or cared about we will exploit. Anything you might want or need – where do you get your money? Where do you collect your benefits?”

After Salah Eldin Adam, 21, was stabbed in the neck in Trafford in 2023, the team spent 16 days tracking Xaviour Wynter, who fled the scene of the attack along with Demari Rose.

Wynter was captured and brought to justice after the team realised he had started a new relationship with a girlfriend of three days and was later jailed for 13 years and eight months for manslaughter.

It took less than a day for the team to bring in Shiloh Pottinger after he stabbed university student Luke O’Connor, 19, eight times with a flick knife in a row on their way home from a party in Fallowfield in October 2022.

The team traced him after they realised he was ordering takeaway food to a bed and breakfast.

For DI Coles, the job comes with pressure but the satisfaction of being able to focus the weight of the team on bringing in a suspect, rather than juggling with multiple outstanding cases which could takes months or even years to bring to a resolution.

He added: “I am given one job to do and it’s heavily pressurised and I am given all the resources and all the best people to deal with it.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan: ‘I was scared to go near a snooker table and I’ve lost my bottle’

Ronnie O’Sullivan has admitted he was scared to approach a snooker table during his break from the game and fears he has lost his bottle, while also acknowledging that he could still pull out of the upcoming World Snooker Championship at short notice.

The World Championship begins in Sheffield on Saturday morning, although O’Sullivan’s first-round grudge match against Ali Carter doesn’t start until Tuesday afternoon.

The seven-time world champion hasn’t played in a tournament since snapping his cue in anger and walking out of the Championship League in January. He has pulled out of several events at short notice over the past 12 months, including the Masters at Alexandra Palace, to prioritise his mental health and wellbeing.

O’Sullivan has been open about his struggles, and there was real doubt about whether he would play at Sheffield or be absent for the first time in 33 years.

During an appearance at Friday’s media day at the Crucible Theatre, the 49-year-old was candid about his ongoing issues and, while suggesting he intends to play, didn’t rule out withdrawing at the last moment if he feels it’s necessary.

“Just getting here was a victory in itself,” said O’Sullivan. “Getting out there to play will be a victory in itself.

“It’s Friday now, I’m not playing until Tuesday, so if I have a meltdown, who knows, I might still bloody withdraw. I hope I don’t.”

O’Sullivan has had extended breaks from snooker before, even winning the World Championship in 2013 after a season of not playing in tournaments, but feels this time is different, given the fear he has felt and a worry that he has lost his edge.

“I’m used to dealing with pressurised situations and stuff like that. This feels a lot different,” explained O’Sullivan. “It feels like I’ve lost my nerve. Maybe lost my bottle. That makes it difficult to go out and play.

“Even when I went to Saudi Arabia to do the exhibition, I felt quite nervous just exposing myself to the scrutiny and judgement and stuff like that. That felt hard enough, let alone coming here [the Crucible] to try and play – there is no bigger test. I am surprised I am here, but I am here.

“This feels different because I was a bit scared to go near the table. I didn’t want to practice, I didn’t want to hit the ball. There were so many practice sessions that lasted like five minutes. Normally I do three or four hours a day, first 20 minutes are a bit ‘urgh’, then after that I think, ‘I am loving this’.

“I tried playing left-handed for a couple of months. I enjoyed it but I can’t compete left-handed against these guys. I tried a different bridge hand but I didn’t have any touch or feel. I ran out of ideas in the end. I felt a bit beaten by it and I don’t know what the future holds.”

Despite being a seven-time world champion – going for a record eighth title at the Crucible – and being widely regarded as the greatest snooker player of all time, O’Sullivan has spent a lot of his career playing down expectations of himself.

This year is no different, with “the Rocket” adamant that any sort of decent performance against Carter – with whom he has a rocky history that includes mid-match shoulder barges and wars of words over on-table behaviour – would be considered a win.

“I don’t have any expectations,” he insisted. “I’d just like to not feel all at sea out there. If I can just play and at least feel semi-competitive, I’d be happy with that.

“Could I win the whole thing? I doubt it. I’d be very happy to just give Ali a game, to be honest. I have to be realistic.

“I know I have a reputation and years of being successful and winning a lot of tournaments. A lot of people always think, ‘well, if you can do that, surely you can still do it.’ That’s probably difficult because you are always going to have that reputation, I suppose.

“But I am nearly 50 now and there a lot of young guys who are hungry and competing all the time. It’s a bit different to, say, 2012 or 2013. I feel like a bit of an old man clinging on. When you are a young man clinging on, it feels all right. But when you feel like an old man clinging on, it’s kind of different.

“I am going to try and push on through and put everything into it and try and manage whatever the sport throws at me.”

Pubs allowed to stay open later to mark VE Day 80th anniversary

Pub across the country will be ringing the last order bell a little later than usual on VE day, as closing time gets pushed back to 1am for the 80th anniversary.

The prime minister has given the green light for pubs and bars to stay open two extra hours on Thursday 8 May.

Sir Keir Starmer has called for the nation to unite in honour of the wartime generation as the UK marks 80 years since VE Day.

He said it was a moment to “remember the incredible sacrifices” made during the Second World War and to celebrate “the peace and freedom” they won.

Extending pub hours, he added, would give people the chance to “raise a glass to all of the men and women who served their country, both overseas and at home.”

Pub hours have been relaxed before for occasions of “exceptional national significance” such as the Euro 2024 final and King Charles’ coronation weekend..

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said extending pub hours would give the industry a boost.

He said: “As someone with a strong family background in the armed forces, I know how vital it is to honour the legacy of those who served.

“VE Day is not only a moment of remembrance but also an opportunity for communities to come together.

“At such a challenging time for the hospitality sector, allowing businesses to extend their trading hours during these celebrations offers a much-needed boost while paying tribute to our shared history.”

VE Day commemorations will start on the May bank holiday on Monday 5 May.

The Cenotaph will be dressed in Union flags and there will be a military procession from Whitehall to Buckingham Palace and an RAF flypast over London.

On 8 May, there will be a party at Horse Guards Parade showed live on BBC One.

Four-foot-long caiman seized in police search of Essex home

A four-foot-long caiman has been seized by police in a search of a home in Essex as two people were arrested on suspicion of drugs and weapons offences.

The animal, which has now been handed over to the RSPCA, was among the items found by officers executing a warrant at an address in Aveley near Grays on Thursday.

A significant cannabis haul and several weapons including knives were also discovered and seized.

A 36-year-old man, from Purfleet, was arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis, contravention of the dangerous wildlife act and possession of an offensive weapon, while a 35-year-old woman was arrested for the same offences as well as on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs, Essex Police said.

Both have since been released under investigation.

Inspector Dan Selby said: “Drugs cause misery in our communities and we work hard to tackle their production and sale.

“We know this matters to the public and we value our neighbourhoods so these issues matter to us.

“We are also ensuring the welfare of the caiman and have left it in the hands of the RSPCA.”

Caimans live in marshes, swamps, lakes, and mangrove rivers. The animals are native to Central and South America.