Greater Manchester’s police chief said security in the force was “tightened” after an “irredeemably corrupt” officer stole £400,000 worth of cocaine from estate shops.

Andrew Talbot, 54, from Leigh, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after stealing 4kg (9lb) of the drug from police premises between 2018 and 2020.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the former Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer was a cocaine addict who used police systems to track down a drug dealer to help him sell the drug on the streets of Manchester.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said he was pleased that security had improved, but added that “at the heart of all these processes you have to have trust”.

Talbot was arrested following an investigation by the force’s anti-corruption unit after cocaine was found in his coat when he arrived for work in February 2020.

Officers found he stuffed as much cocaine as he could fit into his pockets during visits to the property store and then conspired to sell the drug.

Watson said he had “personally dismissed” Talbot.

He said he told the former detective he had become “hopelessly corrupt”.

The chief constable admitted it was a “valid question” when asked during a phone call BBC Radio Manchester how the cocaine had been taken from the police stores.

He said he was now happy that the systems had been “tightened” and added that such a situation was “very unlikely to happen again”.

Watson added: “The truth is that there have always been good levels of security, there have been good levels of control, but at the heart of all these processes you have to trust.”

He said the police often dealt with “significant amounts of drugs and cash” but the weakness was that there was “an untrustworthy character” within the force.

“There’s just no denying it, we had an experienced officer here who fell well into the path of carrying on his responsibilities as a police officer,” he said.

“He had become hopelessly, irredeemably corrupt, and as a result paid a very heavy price – and rightly so.”