Two police detectives have been jailed for stealing at least £10,000 in cash that was seized during a raid on a suspected drug dealer.
Stephen Phillips, who was a detective sergeant, and Michael Stokes, a detective constable, stole bundles of banknotes during the raid and more money later during a formal cash count at their police station.
Phillips, 47, and Stokes, 35, who were both South Wales police officers at the time, were jailed for two years each on Monday after a trial at Cardiff crown court.
The jury heard that £78,000 had been taken from two safes during an investigation into a man called Jayden Luben, 32.
When the investigation was discontinued, the money was supposed to be returned but Luben, who insisted during the trial that the cash had nothing to do with drugs, reported that he was thousands of pounds short.
Sentencing the men, Judge Eleri Rees QC said: “You believed that this money was linked to drug dealing and that it was unlikely any complaint would be made or believed. You thought you could get away with it.”
The judge said the men had demonstrated a contempt for the laws they were meant to uphold. “These offences represent a gross abuse of the trust placed in you as police officers.
“Such corrupt behaviour does untold damage to the public confidence in the police and tarnishes the reputation of the vast majority of officers who carry out their duties honestly and conscientiously.” The judge flagged up the fact that both men had “accumulated significant debts and had a gambling habit”.
Peter Griffiths QC, prosecuting, said: “There are a few bad apples in every organisation and this police force is sadly no exception. This is a case of police corruption.”
Stokes, of Glynneath, near Neath, had bragged to a colleague he’d taken £12,000, although he later claimed he was joking. Phillips, from Swansea, was sacked in 2014 after stealing £250 from a fake crime scene set up by his force as an “integrity test” – three years after the raid in which money was taken from Luben.
After the trial, Gemma Vincent, of the Crown Prosecution Service Wales’s complex casework unit, said: “Today’s convictions demonstrate that those who abuse their position as public servants and commit criminal offences will be prosecuted.”
Jon Stratford, the assistant chief constable of the South Wales force, said: “Police officers hold positions of trust and need to set the highest of standards when serving the people of south Wales.
“These men are now starting prison sentences, and this, I hope, sends out a clear and unequivocal message that South Wales police will identify and deal with anyone who engages in this type of corrupt behaviour.”
• This article was amended on Tuesday 1 December 2015. In the original version the wrong picture was used. This has been corrected.
