Police officer who passed information to drug dealer will be sentenced today

Police intelligence officer Pc Gary Christie accessed confidential force information for his friend and convicted drugs dealer Asa Dobbing.Asa and his brother Aidan ran a significant cocaine dealing operation in Sunderland which involved kilos of the drug being brought to Wearside from the south. They were each jailed yesterday for 14 years.Also jailed were drugs couriers Ian Potts, Kevin Dudley and Simon Loomes, who was the gang’s main supplier from the south of England.

The court had earlier heard how police records showed Christie searched the Northumbria Police computer for details of drugs courier Jamie Malloy, shortly after Malloy had been arrested with a kilo of cocaine in his car.Christie was on the telephone to Dobbing as he made one of the searches. Christie told the jury the search was nothing to do with cocaine, but he had made it because Dobbing told him Malloy was one of Dobbing’s tenants who had not paid his rent.

Christie, 42, of Silksworth Lane, Sunderland, denied misconduct in public office, and conspiracy to supply class A drugs between August 2012, and April, 2014. He was convicted by the jury of misconduct, and acquitted of the conspiracy.He is due to be sentenced today.