Police officer accused of stealing cocaine from Greater Manchester Police appears in court

A police officer accused of stealing almost four kilos of cocaine from Greater Manchester Police has appeared before a judge in a Crown Court dock. PC Andrew Talbot, who is in GMP's serious crime division, faces a total of 13 charges.

He was due to enter his pleas in court on Thursday, but that was postponed until next month.

The 53-year-old officer, a father-of-two from Findlay Street in Leigh, Wigan, faces charges including two of possessing cocaine; possessing ammunition without a certificate; stealing 3.9 kilos of cocaine from GMP; supplying cocaine; three counts of misconduct in public office; three of unauthorised access to police systems and a charge of failing to comply with a notice made under section 49 of the Regulation Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).

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He also stands charged, together with another man, Keith Bretherton, of conspiracy to commit misconduct. Mr Bretherton, 49, of Bexhill Drive, Leigh, pleaded not guilty to that offence. He has admitted, however, charges of possessing 1.39 kilos of cocaine with intent to supply and possessing 85 grams of cannabis, both on June 9, 2021.

The charges against Talbot span from April 2017 to July 2021. They were authorised following an investigation by GMP's anti-corruption unit and led to the hearing on Thursday at Liverpool Crown Court.

Details of the alleged offences include unauthorised access to GMP's Opus and PNC computer systems to search for information about a particular man and woman, and also searching for information about known or suspected