The suburb dubbed Britain's 'crazy vape shop capital'

An inner-city part of Manchester that was a bustling hub for counterfeit goods before a major police crackdown has now emerged as "Britain's vape capital".

Two narrow streets in Cheetham Hill are filled with bright, colourful shopfronts with names such as Vaporesso, Xhale and The Vape Boyz.

There are 51 shops selling vapes on Harris Street and Overbridge Road, something residents have said is "crazy", while a government minister has admitted it is "bizarre".

The stores, which sell wholesale to customers coming from as far away as Glasgow and Edinburgh, emerged after 200 shops in the area were shut down in a two-year police operation to tackle the fake clothes trade and drug dealing.

The area had been described as the UK's counterfeit capital, with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of bogus goods seized by police as part of Operation Vulcan.

The crackdown saw Greater Manchester Police (GMP) make nearly 240 arrests and seize 1,050 tonnes of counterfeit items.

In the years since, vape supermarkets filled with stock and large billboards advertising their wares have emerged in the area, which is near Strangeways prison.

Traders have described it as "Britain's vape capital".

Kamran Akhtar, manager at The Vape Boyz on Harris Street, said: "It's pretty mad how many vape shops there are here.

"We have been here for a while but there have never been so many as there are now.

"We sell wholesale to other shops and businesses. People come from all over the North to buy here - from Bradford, Liverpool and all sorts. They even come from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

"There is a similar vape market like this in Southall in London but this is bigger. In fact this is the biggest vape market in Europe. It dwarfs everything."

The 48-year-old added: "It now a lot safer than it was before when it was counterfeit."

He said before the crackdown there had been "spotters" employed by drug dealers in the area in case the police arrived.

"They were usually armed as well. But there's not really any dodgy stuff going on now."

Mason Robinson, who lives behind one of the streets, said: "It's crazy that there are so many vape shops.

"It's shocking really to have so many. I don't understand why they need so many."

The 26-year-old added: "It's a lot safer than it was but it's still not great.

"It's still a bit dodgy - there's rubbish everywhere and you still get offered counterfeit goods now and then when you walk through."

Mother-of-two Janice Hughes, 34, said: "It was really bad before with drugs and spotters looking out for the police."

But she said she feared the counterfeit trade had been replaced with people coming to buy vapes.

"It all seems very shady to me, and outrageous that we have so many here," she said.

Communities minister Steve Reed has described the number of vape shops as "absolutely bizarre".

He added: "That is not going to bring people to the high street. You need a diversity of shops."

GMP launched Operation Vulcan to tackle organised crime in the neighbourhood.

In 2024, police reported they had seized almost 1,050 tonnes of counterfeit items, shut down 216 counterfeit shops, made 238 arrests and seized more than £500,000 cash. They also found almost 400,000 illicit vapes.

Det Supt Neil Blackwood said: "By decimating the counterfeit trade and systematically shutting down every shop, warehouse and storage unit involved, we've seen a reduction in violent crime, vehicle crime and theft from person.

"Drug dealing is no longer blatant and the community report that they feel safer."

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