Corrupt Pc jailed over drug case

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A corrupt policeman who passed secret information to a drug dealer has been jailed for three years and nine months.

William Hosie, 28, was caught when fellow officers on Tayside Police arranged for him to be left alone with the pusher in a bugged force vehicle.

He was recorded giving the suspect advice on what to say and receiving information about hidden drugs, which he failed to pass on to colleagues.

At an earlier hearing, Hosie admitted carrying out the crimes.

In May 2007, he had been involved in a drugs raid on the home of a boyhood friend in Dundee.

However, colleagues of the officer had already become suspicious about his relationship with the dealer, named as Raymond Rudkin.

They had studied phone records which showed that the pair had been in touch.

It emerged that Rudkin had Hosie stored in his mobile phone directory as "Don Beech" - a corrupt officer in TV drama The Bill.

Once in the bugged police vehicle, Hosie coached Rudkin on what to tell officers and was heard saying he had not had time to warn him about the raid.

He has lost everything which he worked hard from a young age to achieve Tim Niven-SmithDefence counsel

The case was originally heard at Dundee Sheriff Court but was referred to the High Court in Edinburgh after the sheriff ruled the five-year maximum sentence he could give was not long enough.

The judge at the High Court in Edinburgh told him that he would have been jailed for five years but for his guilty plea.

Lord Brailsford said: "This is a very serious and gross breach of trust in discharge of your duties as a police officer."

He said there was no alternative to a jail sentence but added there were significant mitigating factors.

The judge accepted that Hosie had acted out of "misplaced loyalty" and was trying to assist a friend in very serious trouble.

He also took on board that he was previously of good character, community-spirited and had been a conscientious officer.

He said: "I also accept your own life has been irrevocably ruined by these actions."

Defence counsel Tim Niven-Smith told the court: "He has lost everything which he worked hard from a young age to achieve.

"Most importantly he has lost his own dignity and respect."

Rudkin was jailed for three years after cocaine worth £1,100 was found at his home and a further £24,000 worth discovered in the loft of his mother's home.

Tayside Police Deputy Chief Constable Kevin Mathieson said: "I think the [Hosie's] sentence is appropriate given the circumstances.

"I think the important thing to point out though is the rarity of such incidents, and that's why this is such a high-profile incident.

"Secondly, the issue didn't land on our lap, it was our hard work and our investigatory processes that actually led us to this position today."