Nottinghamshire Police officer sold drug-growing equipment on eBay

Former police constable Stuart Clarke sold more than 140 items on eBay that can be used in growing cannabis

A former police drugs expert made more than £10,000 by selling equipment commonly used for growing cannabis online, an investigation has found.

Former Nottinghamshire Police constable Stuart Clarke sold more than 140 items on his personal eBay account between January 2019 and September 2020.

Mr Clarke left the force in November while under investigation.

On Tuesday, at a disciplinary hearing, he was found guilty of gross misconduct.

'Thoroughly discreditable'

Mr Clarke's activity was discovered during a routine vetting check in October.

He was arrested in November on suspicion of having stolen seized equipment from cannabis grows but he told investigators he had bought the items - which included lighting systems and Ph monitors - legitimately at car boot sales.

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The force found no evidence of criminal conduct and Mr Clarke, who worked in the force's anti drugs unit for a decade - was released without charge.

However, the force agreed there was a case to answer for gross misconduct.

The Nottinghamshire Police disciplinary panel said that if he had still been employed by the force, he would have been dismissed.

In a written statement, Mr Clarke said: "I am deeply disappointed in not taking a more responsible and moral position, and I accept my actions were not compatible with what the public would expect of a police officer."

He said "several personal issues" in his private life had also affected his behaviour.

Steve Noonan, director of major investigations at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: "For a police officer to sell such quantities of hydroponic equipment, knowing its potential for criminal use, was clearly inappropriate and a breach of professional standards and even more so in Stuart Clarke's case, given his specialist knowledge and the role he carried out in the anti drugs unit.

"Such activities undermine public confidence in policing and he has paid a heavy price for that."

The IOPC said public confidence in policing could be undermined by Mr Clarke's actions

Mr Clarke has been placed on a list barring him from working in the police service again.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: "The conduct of Mr Clarke was thoroughly discreditable and undermines all the hard work which our dedicated and professional officers and staff undertake on a daily basis.

"Consequently had he still been serving, he would have been dismissed."