AN elite police unit set up to take down the North West's most hardened criminals is celebrating after reaching a landmark in the amount of prison time handed down to them.

"Titan"-  the Regional Organised Crime Unit - hit the 2,000-year mark after former businesswoman Paula White from Manchester was jailed for nine years for running a website which sold millions of pounds of so-called legal highs to thousands of people around the world.

Titan's "Operation Maple" was the largest police investigation into the sale of these substances to date and also led to the imprisonment of six other people involved in White's illegal business.

The unit, which is a collaboration of police officers and civilian support staff from the North West's six individual police forces, together with a range of multi-agency partners, is aiming to reach the 3,000-year mark as it continues to target serious and organised crime in all its forms.

Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, head of operations at Titan, said: "In just six years our investigations have led to criminals being imprisoned for 2,000 years and our work will continue onto the next landmark.

"Our aim is to go after the organised crime groups operating in the North-west and beyond who pose the greatest risk of causing the most harm to decent, law-abiding people across the region.

"Our officers come from these communities and care about protecting them and that is what we have done and will continue to do.

"Already, criminal groups from Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, and North Wales have been dismantled by Titan investigations and we will continue to target drug smugglers, gun runners, fraudsters, money launderers and cyber criminals.

"The people operating in this top-tier of criminality do not stick to county borders and neither do we.

"My message to these criminals is simple: Those involved in serious and organised crime can have no hiding place in the North West.

"They will be identified, targeted, and brought to justice. They will assist in meeting our next objective which is to reach 3000 years imprisonment"