Greater Manchester Police say eight arrests made in relation to the terrorist attack in Manchester on Monday are “significant” and that recent raids have revealed items “very important” to the investigation.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins says the investigation continues to be “very fast moving” with a “significant amount of activity occurring overnight and this morning.”
He says there are eight men currently in custody. A woman arrested on Wednesday has been released without charge. Hopkins says officers are carrying out a number of searches relating to those who have been arrested.
“I want to reassure people that the arrests we have made are significant and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation.
“These searches will take several days to complete.”
Hopkins says the incident in Hulme, where army bomb disposal units were dispatched to attend to a “suspicious package” on Thursday morning, “is not necessarily related to the wider [Manchester terrorism] investigation.”
