Someone who used to be a detective and dropped a bag of white powder outside of his child’s school and then stole cocaine from an evidence store has been jailed for 19 years.
Andrew Talbot was found guilty of misconduct in public office and supplying class-A drugs last month. He worked for the serious crime section of Greater Manchester Police.
After police found almost 4 kg of cocaine worth almost £400,000, the 54-year-old man took it from storage and looked through police databases for dealers who could help him sell the drugs, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Talbot, who was addicted to cocaine, sold the stolen drugs to criminals. The judge said that because of his “greed,” a “significant quantity” of cocaine was put back on the streets of Manchester.
He was caught when, in February 2020, he dropped a small bag of drugs outside of his daughter’s elementary school by mistake.
Police were called by the school, and Talbot was caught when he got to work with 26.8 grams of high-purity cocaine and smaller amounts of less pure cocaine, the court heard.
In his car, police found snap bags and a piece of paper with exhibit references for Operation Cosmetic, which looked into the national supply of cocaine. At his home in Leigh, Greater Manchester, they found three bullets.
The prosecutor, James Lake, said, “He agreed that when he went to the property store, he would take pocketfuls, or as much as he could fit in his pockets.”
From 2018 to 2020, Talbot sold the drug.
He had already pleaded guilty to several other charges, such as having cocaine on his person, having ammunition without a firearm license, stealing cocaine, and getting into someone else’s computer without permission.
Talbot was fired from GMP in August 2024, which the force said was the later date that was allowed.
After the sentence, Jennifer Adams from GMP’s anti-corruption unit said it was “one of the most shocking cases of corruption uncovered” by her team.
“There is no place in policing for Talbot or anyone else like him who cannot be trusted to uphold the law and keep our streets safe,” she stated.
“We will keep going after people who aren’t fit to speak for the thousands of hardworking police officers who serve the people of Greater Manchester.”
“He betrayed his oath to serve the public and instead became a criminal.”
Judge Neil Flewitt KC gave him his sentence on Friday. He said, “Because of careful and dedicated police work, large amounts of Class A drugs were taken off the streets by officers of Greater Manchester Police, many of whom were your colleagues.”
It was because of your addiction and greed that a lot of that cocaine was put back into circulation.
“You deceived your colleagues and you betrayed the trust placed in you by them and the community.”
The court was told that Talbot and 50-year-old convicted drug dealer Keith Bretherton planned to sell the stolen cocaine.
The court heard that Talbot also gave Bretherton private police information to help him get back more than £20,000 in drug debt and to a friend who was being investigated for the attack.
Talbot had been a police officer for 20 years and had been in the military for three years.
He became hooked on cocaine after having problems in his personal life and because he was involved in an operation in which armed police shot and killed Anthony Grainger in Culcheth, Cheshire.
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