“He betrayed his oath to serve the public and instead became a criminal”

A former Detective Constable in GMP has been jailed for more than nineteen years today after he stole more than four kilos of cocaine from the police’s drug unit and redistributed on the region’s streets

The investigation into Fifty four year old Andrew Talbot was launched in February 2020 after he was captured on CCTV dropping a small bag of cocaine outside his daughter’s primary school.

This was the moment Talbot’s criminal offending would start to unravel; detectives worked to discover possessing these drugs was only a small part of Talbot’s criminal offending.

Officers arrested Talbot at his workplace, GMP’s Nexus House, and found him in possession of an ounce of cocaine. Officers searched his car and home and retrieved more cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and evidence to indicate he had been abusing his privileged access to the force’s property storage for criminal purposes.

GMP anti-corruption detectives were determined to bring Talbot to justice for the entity of his crimes and established Talbot stole almost four kilograms of cocaine from police property storage and redistributed it on the streets of Greater Manchester.

As part of the  investigation, police closed the property storage at Nexus House for two days to manually examine all drug exhibits believed to have been accessed by Talbot for no apparent policing purpose and identified twelve exhibits that were due to be destroyed had been damaged or tampered with.

Thet also rigorously reviewed Talbot’s use of police systems, analysing nearly 400,000 lines of data, and determined he had been conspiring with a convicted drug dealer and conducting unlawful searches to further his criminal gains.

His co-conspirator Keith Bretherton, aged 50 from Leigh, was also sentenced today to eight-and-a-half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and possession of cocaine with intent to supply, and conspiracy, with Talbot, to commit misconduct in public office.

Talbot unlawfully searched police systems for local drug dealers and information to assist Bretherton and his associates with collecting debts; not only through passing on intelligence but also by mentioning his position in the police and threatening to launch a criminal investigation if payment was not made. These actions instilled fear in vulnerable people, particularly a couple who had moved across the country and was tracked down.

Following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court Talbot was found guilty of supplying a Class A drug, misconduct in public office and failing to comply with a notice under section 49 of the Regulation and Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for refusing to provide the PIN for his mobile phone.

Talbot previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of cocaine, possession of ammunition without a firearm certificate, theft of cocaine, conspiracy, two counts of misconduct in public office and a further charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

Following his initial admissions in court, Talbot was sacked earlier this year at an accelerated misconduct hearing.

Detective Chief Inspector Jennifer Adams, of our Anti-Corruption Unit, said: “This is one of the most shocking cases of corruption we’ve uncovered, and Talbot will now serve a long sentence behind bars for abusing his role as a police officer.

“He betrayed his oath to serve the public and instead became a criminal; he not only stole drugs that had been taken from the streets, but he also unlawfully used police systems and conspired with a known local drug dealer to add further crime and fear to communities.

“This was a complex and wide-ranging investigation involving a team of detectives who worked tirelessly to bring Talbot to justice for the full extent of his crimes. Whilst cases like this are concerning, they are extremely rare, and our anti-corruption is dedicated to uncovering any criminality within the force.

“There is no place for Talbot or anyone else in police uniform who cannot be trusted to catch criminals and keep our streets safe.

“We will continue to relentlessly root out those who are not fit to represent the thousands of hard-working officers that serve the people of Greater Manchester.”

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said: “I am deeply saddened that a member of our police force sank to the depths that Andrew Talbot did. He has betrayed his oath and the trust of our communities.

“Without the dedication and tenacity of the GMP Anti-Corruption Unit, the full extent of Talbot’s offending would never have been fully understood.

“I am grateful for their consummate professionalism and unwavering dedication and am proud that they represent the vast majority of policing. This is in stark contrast to Andrew Talbot who thankfully represents a very small and uniquely depraved minority.

“Talbot deserves his long prison sentence; not only for the severity of the crimes he committed, but also for the egregious breach of trust and confidence of his colleagues and the wider Greater Manchester community.”