First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) joined forces with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) recently to deliver notices seeking the eviction of four customers following their alleged involvement in crime.
FCHO ASB Officer Imran Majid and PCs William Loughran and Kyle Cashman visited addresses in Coldhurst, St Mary’s and Glodwick to deliver the notices to seek possession of the properties.
Three of the notices were related to drug possession and supply and the other was a breach of a court order.
The offending was uncovered during the Operation Vulcan crime crackdown in Derker.
In addition, an anti-social behaviour warning letter was delivered to a Coldhurst address following a customer using threatening and abusive behaviour to cause harassment, alarm, or distress.
FCHO chief executive Mark Gifford said: “Taking legal action is always our last resort, but when we’ve decided to it is vital we move quickly to seek the eviction of those who take part in criminality in our communities and delivering these notices is the latest part of the process and, importantly, demonstrate we are very serious about tackling crimes like drug dealing.
“Our communities must have confidence we are doing all we can to eliminate this unacceptable behaviour in our properties in partnership with Greater Manchester Police and other agencies.
“There is a legal process and ultimately it will be up to a court to decide if we can evict these tenants. But I can assure everyone FCHO will be putting together compelling cases based on evidence from the police and our own staff ahead of the court hearings."
He added: “We work within the law and with the law to make it absolutely clear to those who want to use our properties for crime that we will not tolerate it and those who do so run a very grave risk of losing their homes.”
The notices to seek possession were delivered to addresses in Bessemer Street, Coldhurst, for the supply of Class B drugs, at Trajan House, St Mary’s and Sunfield Road, Coldhurst for possession with intent to supply and at Welfold House Glodwick for a breach of a court order.
The ASB warning letter was delivered to an address in Ammon Wrigley Close, St Mary’s.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Julien, from GMP’s Operation Vulcan team, said: “Working with First Choice Homes Oldham over the last nine months has enabled us to tackle a multitude of criminality – in particular nuisance anti-social behaviour that disrupts the lives of the law-abiding public.
“During our crackdown on crime in Derker, we have worked to ensure that those responsible for crime in the community are punished, whether that be through jailtime, eviction notices, or other orders.
“If you have a problem in your area – please do get in touch with us. We will listen, investigate, and do what we can to assist you.”
FCHO has issued 18 notices to seek possession of its properties since Operation Vulcan started in March this year. More are expected.
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