THUGS involved in street robberies and snatch thefts were targeted by police during a successful month-long operation to curb their criminal activities.

And it has emerged that some people who claimed they were victims of such robberies lied to police during initial investigation.

Operation Sinbad was launched in the Bury division as part of the force-wide, ongoing Operation Hawk. Sinbad involved a team of four officers from the operational policing unit (OPU).

Bury OPU manager, Inspector Martyn Stanhope explained: "Operation Sinbad was the name give to a team of officers dedicated to tackling robberies and snatch thefts in our local area.

"Sinbad's team was specifically put together to provide a final push for Operation Hawk towards the end of its six months."

He added: "Operation Sinbad's aim was to stop robberies occurring by pursuing these people we know to be active street robbers. It involved arresting them on every occasion and excuse, and having them remanded in custody. A number of arrests were made."

At the same time, extra police patrols have also been established, particularly in Prestwich to clamp down on commercial crime in the south of the borough.

Part of Operation Sinbad's remit involved re-contacting victims to confirm facts and to ascertain if there were fresh leads to be followed up.

Insp Stanhope disclosed that one victim confessed to making up a story that he had been robbed

"It emerged that he had lost the property that he had alleged he had been robbed of. But he had been afraid to tell his parents.

"There was another instance involving a juvenile. There was no disparity over the robbery, but the location of it. After we got a prisoner for it, it transpired the robbery had taken place somewhere else."

He went on: "The victim had been telling us lies. The robbery actually took place in a place where he shouldn't have been. The case against the prisoner weakened to the extent that it had to be dropped."

Insp Stanhope said that force-wide, there were examples of people claiming they had been robbed of their mobile phones when, in fact, they had been lost with a view to getting the latest, updated versions.

He warned that such incidents could lead to these people facing prosecution for wasting police time, an offence which carries a penalty of six months imprisonment and a £2,000 fine.

Insp Stanhope concluded: "This is a worrying trend and one which the police will take further action to address. The impact on police resources in investigating robbery is considerable and those people who wrongly report robbery or any other offence for personal gain will be dealt with severely."