A police officer paid by a drugs gang to provide them with information, has been jailed for five years.

Patrick Maloney, who served with Devon and Cornwall Police for 18 years, tipped off members of a Plymouth drugs ring about a police investigation into their activities.

The 38-year-old, of Church Way, Plymouth, was arrested in July last year after an 18-month police operation.

At Plymouth Crown Court on Friday, Maloney admitted conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

Money laundering

Passing sentence, Judge William Taylor told him: "You betrayed the trust of your colleagues and the public by co-operating with those against whom the police operations were directed."

The court heard that Maloney had been researching ways of laundering money for the gang's ringleader.

I think Pc Maloney enjoyed being in the company of people who were high profile in Plymouth

Detective Superintendent Chris Boarland

Prosecutor Richard Latham QC, said the officer had met members of the drugs ring through a shared interest in bodybuilding.

An investigation into Maloney started after another officer contacted the force's Professional Standards Unit.

It then emerged that Maloney was in close contact with Plymouth nightclub manager and suspected drugs dealer Martin Kenny.

The court heard he had gambled large sums of money on horses and, last April, had amassed debts of around �50,000.

A police investigation, codenamed Operation Orange, was set up and led to the seizure of around �60,000 in cash from one of the gang members last June.

'Betrayed Force'

Later that month, Dorset Police seized 166.5 kilos of cannabis belonging to the gang from a van heading towards Bournemouth.

Police investigations led to the arrest of 10 members of the drugs ring. Nine men, including Maloney, were sentenced on Friday.

Ringleader and former nightclub manager Martin Kenny, 41, was jailed for eight years for conspiring to pervert the course of justice and for conspiring to supply cannabis.

The court heard that Kenny, of Beacon Park Road, Plymouth, spent �185,000 in a nine-month period on sports cars, and homes with profits from the drugs operation.

Detective Superintendent Chris Boarland, who headed the investigation, told a press conference that Maloney betrayed the force to become a criminal.

"I think Pc Maloney enjoyed being in the company of people who were high profile in Plymouth, had fast vehicles and enjoyed a high standard of living," he said.