Five in court after £2m drug haul

The arrests came after a three-month operation

Police have charged five people with attempting to import £2m of cocaine in to the North West of England.

The five, from across the region, were arrested in Holland.

The arrests came after the three-month long Operation Smooth led by Greater Manchester Police's drugs squad.

The four men and a woman were due before magistrates in Manchester on Monday.

Operation Smooth - which included officers from Cheshire, Merseyside and Holland - ended on Friday with the seizure of the cocaine in Rotterdam.

All five of those arrested appear charged with conspiracy to import cocaine.

They are:

• John Austin, 27, of Emery Street, Walton, Merseyside

• George Moon, 55, of Greenway Road, Widnes, Cheshire

• Rachel Murtagh, 23, of Highfield Road, Liverpool

• William Dickman, 26, from Rosevale, Anfield, Liverpool

• Amjid Mohammed, 25, of Spring Street, Bury, Greater Manchester.