Govan police constable 'stole £205,000'

A former police officer has gone on trial over allegations that he stole £205,000 in cash, as well as drugs including cocaine and heroin.

Dean Burnett, 42, is alleged to have committed the offences between July 2009 and January 2012 while working as a constable in Govan.

Mr Burnett is also said to have been concerned in the supply of cocaine, cannabis and diazepam, and to have offered to supply heroin.

He denies the charges against him.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard in agreed evidence read out at the start of the trial that on 26 January last year Mr Burnett sent a text message to a female witness.

'Completely mad'

It read: "I have done something terrible, u will not believe it when u find out but its true, my head is spinnin and I have lost all grip on reality my life has spiralled out of control since I was arrested for something I never did."

It continued: "At least this time it will be for something I did, I really want to end it and have thought about nothing else for some time but I have hurt u enough and if I did end it there would be no one there to tell them you knew nothing about what I did, have disappeared for a few days to prepared for what lies ahead."

On the same day he sent a further text message to a man which began: "Sorry I went a bit mad well completely mad."

It ended with the words: "I gambled the lot could not stop, went mad."

Sex toys

The court was told that Mr Burnett, was detained on 20 April last year at London Road police station for offences under drugs legislation.

He is alleged to have stolen £205,279.68 in cash as well as sex toys and quantities of cocaine, cannabis, cannabis resin and diamorphine, and amounts of powders which he believed were drugs.

Not all of the drugs had their weights recorded in police records, but those that did have recorded weights amounted in total to 107g of cocaine, worth about £2,810, 145g of cannabis with an approximate value of £985, 113g of cannabis resin, worth about £375, and 9.9g of heroin.

The trial before judge Sean Murphy QC continues.