A former detective who stole nearly £400,000 worth of drugs from police storage was caught after accidentally dropping a bag of cocaine outside his daughter’s school, a court has heard.
Andrew Talbot, 54, previously a detective constable with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), worked with convicted drug dealer Keith Bretherton, 50, to sell the stolen drugs, according to evidence presented at Liverpool Crown Court.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC sentenced Talbot to 19 years, stating, “Large quantities of Class A drugs were removed from the streets by GMP officers, many of whom were your colleagues. Yet, driven by addiction and greed, you reintroduced a significant amount of that cocaine back into circulation.”
The investigation into Talbot began in February 2020 after he dropped a small bag of cocaine on the grounds of his daughter’s primary school. Prosecutor James Lake explained, “School staff discovered a snap bag containing white powder on a footpath. CCTV footage showed that it was Andrew Talbot who dropped the bag.”
Following his arrest at work on February 17, 2020, officers found 26.8 grams of high-purity cocaine in Talbot’s coat pocket. A further audit of police-seized drugs revealed nearly four kilograms of missing cocaine. Mr. Lake stated, “He would take as much as he could fit in his pockets during his visits to the property store.”