A pair of serving policemen who were involved in a plot to pedal body building steroids to fellow officers have been jailed for a total of 11 years.
Detective Constable Paul Fletcher and Sergent Paul Hornby of Merseyside Police pleaded guilty to nine drug offences after being rumbled by an undercover colleague.
The pair were first suspected of dealing the anabolic steroid Clenbuterol after offering the class C substance to an officer operating incognito under the name "Neil".
Police suspended the rogue officers on 14 July this year after monitoring their activity inn distributing the supplement.
At Liverpool Crown Court today (MON) Fletcher Snr, 46, pleaded guilty to six counts of supplying illegal drugs, five of which were to his undercover colleague.
Sgt Hornby, 42, who handed in his resignation from the force before sentencing, was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance.
The bent coppers were sentenced alongside three members of the public, also implicated in the drugs ring.
One of those was DC Fletcher's son, Paul Jnr, 26, who pleaded guilty to six counts of intent to supply a controlled drug after handling the steroids for his father in between deals.
Another was Fletcher's nephew, Carl, 28, a failed commonwealth shot putter who sold the muscle building substance from his supplement shop "flex" in Wigan.
Court 5.2 at Liverpool Crown Court heard how DC Fletcher had used his son to handle the drugs in order to "keep his hands clean".
The court also heard how Carl, a talented field athlete, had fallen into drug use after failing to qualify for the Great Britain shot team for the commonwealth games.
As part of the investigation Merseyside Police, worked with the anti-doping agency in relation to the charge of Carl Fletcher due to his status as a competing athlete
Sentencing, Judge Justice Henriques told Sgt Hornby, who resigned before the hearing took place, that he had left the force "in disgrace."
Justice Henriques said: "Your record with Merseyside Police was highly distinguished.
"You enjoyed an outstanding career and was constantly the most successful officer in the war on crime in St Helens.
"Obviously that career is over and you have left the force in disgrace.
"You were trusted and remunerate to uphold and stay within the law, this was not an isolated incident."
Before passing sentence Justice Henriques also told DC Fletcher his crime had not only been to the people of Merseyside, but also his son, who he said was "used" in the scam.
He said: "The way in which you used your son was shameful.
"You encouraged him to take up a life of crime as not only a police officer, but as a father.
"Your son would hand over the drugs and receive the money, and you watched on - effectively supervising - from a safe distance, so there was no risk of you being caught."
Detective Chief Inspector Allan James, of Merseyside police said after the hearing, that the behaviour of Fletcher and Hornby was "completely unacceptable".
He said: "The public quite rightly have high expectations of police officers and Merseyside Police is committed to meeting those expectations.
"We demand high standards of professionalism and integrity from all staff.
"The behaviour of these officers was completely unacceptable and serves to undermine the public's confidence and trust in the police.
"We are quite clear, no officer is above the law and these officers have let down their colleagues whom day in, day out provide a professional and quality service to members of communities across Merseyside.
"If any officer found to be behaving in a way that does not meet our high standards we will take swift and robust action as we did in this case."
UK Anti-Doping Chief Executive Andy Parkinson said of the conviction of Carl Fletcher: "This case proves the invaluable role that law enforcement agencies have in the fight against doping in sport and demonstrates that our newly established intelligence system is working effectively.
"I would like to thank the Merseyside Police and SOCA for their vital assistance in helping our Intelligence team with this case.
"By attacking the supply chain and those that supply performance enhancing substances, we stand a better chance of protecting the right of the clean athletes to compete in doping-free sport."
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