Hale, a plush village just nine miles south of Manchester, is known for its celebrity residents, including Molly Mae and Tommy Fury. However, a darker side has emerged, with gangsters living side-by-side with the rich and famous.
Recent cases highlight the criminal underbelly. Carl Jones, 59, was jailed for over 30 years for drug and gun dealing from his detached home in Hale. Philip Waugh, 40, supplied military-grade weapons and blinded a victim with acid, according to the National Crime Agency.
Locals who have lived in Hale for decades report a shift. A business owner told the Daily Mail: 'It started in the last ten or fifteen years. Some of the new shops and businesses just seem to have come from nowhere. How can a shop make money when it's empty all week? There are rumours that some of the blacked-out Range Rovers have bulletproof glass. Something has changed.'
In 2018, Julian Solomon, a former bouncer, was found to have run a £66 million drug operation from his Hale home. He was one of eight men caught after police seized the largest haul of Class A drugs in Greater Manchester Police history. Solomon was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
