A taxi driver has denied buying sensitive information from a Merseyside police officer in a plot to burgle cannabis farms.
Prosecutors say Robert Gerrard Sloan, 44, was a “major” cocaine dealer who used information provided by ex-PC Barry Parkinson, 45, to keep “one step ahead”.
They also allege that Parkinson passed Sloan the addresses of suspected cannabis farms as part of a conspiracy to break in and steal the drugs.
The pair deny conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to supply cannabis between January 1 and June 27, 2014.
Parkinson, of Beechburn Crescent, Page Moss , also denies a charge of misconduct in a public office.
He has admitted two further counts of this offence, which Sloan, of Steeple View, Kirkby , admits aiding and abetting.
Sloan told Liverpool Crown Court today he had no dealings with cannabis and had not “dealt cocaine by the kilo” as claimed by the prosecution.
But he admitted “I’ve been using steroids on and off all my life” and said he supplied them and growth hormone to friends and family.
Sloan said he once got a call about a £50 bag of cocaine while working as a taxi driver to pass onto a friend – but had nothing else to do with the drug.
The court heard the dad-of-six, who has three grandchildren, grew up in Liverpool but moved to London, where he worked as security for the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed’s family and the 80s pop duo Pepsi & Shirlie.
Under questioning by Charles Lander, defending, the ex-amateur boxer said he returned to Merseyside to work as a doorman and went into the debt recovery business.
Parkinson previously told the jury that Sloan revealed he wanted a better life and to work as a taxi driver instead .
He admitted creating a police report saying that Sloan had been arrested for money laundering, which he said was to help his friend who had people chasing him for debts.
However, Sloan denied having any debts to people outside the city or owing money to “big time drug people”.
He said: “It was just to have any easy life and to get out of doing favours and jobs and the line of work I was in.”
Sloan said there was no truth in a police intelligence report suggesting that a man called Stuart O’Leary was dealing cocaine on behalf of him from his taxi.
He said: “Barry has known me long enough. He would know I’m not selling kilos of cocaine.”
Sloan said he and Parkinson – nicknamed “Barry the Bizzie” – would often text and call each other to chat about football and betting tips, but never discussed cannabis farms.
The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Liverpool Crown Court. File picture. Photo by Ian Cooper
One of the misconduct charges Parkinson has admitted relates to providing Sloan with confidential information about a traveller called Bernie Campbell.
Sloan said this had nothing to do with drugs but was about him trying to find Mr Campbell to recover a £13,000 debt that he had owed his friend, who died of cancer.
He said he promised his dying pal that he would get the money for his family back from Mr Campbell.
Sloan told the jury: “I would never use the death of my mate to try and get me out of trouble, never.”
He said that after originally promising to pay the cash back, Mr Campbell went to ground.
Sloan said co-accused David Gould “has done nothing wrong” and that if he had sent him addresses it was probably connected to trying to find Mr Campbell.
He said Gould had agreed to help look for him in places he frequented, such as houses, gyms and pubs, while he searched travellers sites across the North West.
Gould, 52, of Grange Avenue, West Derby , and Shaun Blackburn, 30, of Kenbury Road, Kirkby, deny conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to supply cannabis.
David Nuttall, 44, of Bonnington Close, St Helens , denies conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.
He has already pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and abstracting electricity.
(Proceeding)
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/