Detective caught stealing £400,000 worth of drugs from police shop after blunder outside daughter’s school

A detective who stole drugs with a retail value of almost £400,000 from police stores was caught after dropping a bag of cocaine outside his daughter’s school, a court was told.

Andrew Talbot, 54, a former Greater Manchester Police (GMP) detective, conspired with Keith Bretherton, 50, a convicted drug dealer, to sell the stolen drugs, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Sentencing him to 19 years in prison on Friday, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: “As a result of conscientious and dedicated police work, large quantities of Class A drugs were taken off the streets by officers of Greater Manchester Police, many of which were his colleagues.

“As a result of their addiction and greed, a significant amount of this cocaine was put back into circulation.

“You deceived your colleagues and betrayed the trust placed in you by them and the community.”

The investigation into Talbot, carried out by GMP’s anti-corruption unit, began in February 2020, after he dropped a small bag of cocaine outside his daughter’s primary school.

James Lake, prosecuting, said: “Members of staff were informed that a bag containing white powder was found on the pavement. When the school looked at the closed circuit television, they saw that it was Andrew Talbot who dropped the snap bag.

“Unsurprisingly, as they knew he was a police officer, they contacted the police.”

Lack of cocaine

When Talbot was arrested after arriving for work on February 17, 2020, a total of 26.8g of high-purity cocaine was found in his coat pocket, as well as smaller amounts of lower purity, the court heard.

Pressure bags and a piece of paper with exhibit references from Operation Cosmetic, which investigated the national supply of cocaine, were found in his car, and three bullets were found in his home in Leigh, Greater Manchester.

When agents checked the drugs seized as part of Operation Cosmética and another investigation, they found just under 4 kg of cocaine missing.

Lake said: “He accepted that when he went to the estate store he would take as much as he could fit in his pockets.”

The court heard the medicines had an estimated wholesale value of £140,000 and a retail value of £394,500.

Talbot conducted numerous searches of GMP’s confidential computer systems for known or suspected drug dealers in his area.

£20,000 in drug debts

The judge said: “Although it is not clear exactly how Andrew Talbot got rid of the stolen cocaine, I have no doubt that he sold it to criminals who in turn cut it up and sold it on the streets.”

Talbot also provided confidential police information to a friend under investigation for assault and to Bretherton to help him recover a drug debt worth more than £20,000, the court heard.

Ryan Donoghue, defending Talbot, said there was no evidence Talbot was living a “lavish lifestyle”.

He said: “At the time he had a long-standing addiction to cocaine.”

The court heard Talbot served in the police force for 20 years and spent three years in the Armed Forces. However, Talbot became addicted to cocaine following difficulties in his personal life and because of his role in an operation in which armed police shot Anthony Grainger in Culcheth, Cheshire.

Talbot was found guilty after a trial of supplying a Class A controlled drug, misconduct in public office and failing to provide his phone password.

He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of cocaine, possession of ammunition without a firearm certificate, theft of cocaine, conspiracy, with Bretherton, to commit misconduct in public office, a further count of misconduct in public office and unauthorized access to computer materials.

Bretherton, also from Leigh, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis, possession of cocaine with intent to supply and conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and was jailed for eight and a half years.