Policeman Nicholas McFadden jailed for selling drugs Published duration 4 April 2013

A corrupt detective who stole massive amounts of seized drugs and conspired to sell them back on to the streets has been jailed for 23 years.

Nicholas McFadden 38, of Church Avenue, Leeds, stole thousands of pounds of class A drugs from evidence stores, Leeds Crown Court heard.

His brother, Simon McFadden, 41, of Darfield Place, Harehills, was jailed for 16 years for conspiring to supply.

Officers said Nicholas McFadden "was a criminal purporting to be an officer".

McFadden stole enormous amounts of seized drugs and conspired to sell them back on to the streets with his brother, making them at least £600,000, the court heard.

He helped himself to more than £1m of heroin, cocaine and cannabis by exploiting "slack" procedures while working at secret evidence stores.

'Champagne and sausages'

He and his brother, Simon McFadden, a debt collector, conspired to sell the drugs back to underworld contacts.

A judge sentencing the two men at Leeds Crown Court said both were motivated by one factor - an "insatiable greed" that made them "so much money that they simply did not know how to spend it", but ultimately led to their downfall.

The brothers lived a champagne lifestyle, taking exotic holidays, designer clothing, expensive jewellery, artwork, home improvements and private number plates for their cars, jurors in the five-week trial heard.

Simon McFadden also indulged his love of expensive sausages, which he and his wife washed down with large amounts of champagne.

When police raided Nicholas McFadden's family home in Castleford, West Yorkshire, they found almost £160,000 in banknotes stuffed into sacks in his garage and £20,000 hidden around his house.

They also discovered £6,000 in his performance car.

Karen McFadden, who lived with Simon in Harehills, Leeds, was spared an immediate jail term for the sake of her teenage son after admitting money laundering.

She was given a 12-month sentence suspended for two years after the court heard she revelled in their new-found wealth but did not know how her husband was making the money, of which she spent £11,000 at the Harvey Nichols store.

Judge Tom Bayliss said: "The two of you were putting back on the streets drugs which successful police operations had taken off the streets.

"And in doing so you became very rich."