Policeman faces jail over 'dangerous conspiracy'

Published 12th Mar 2010

An experienced but corrupt police officer faces jail today after being convicted of being at the centre of an "extremely dangerous conspiracy".

Pc Mark Bohannan, a field intelligence officer with the Metropolitan Police's Territorial Support Group, passed confidential information to his cocaine-taking wife Denise and her drug dealer in return for free drugs and money.

The officer, who had 25 years' experience, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and will be sentenced by judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith at London's Southwark Crown Court.

The jury found he deliberately passed information to drug dealer Syed Imtiaz Ahmed that allowed him to continue his large-scale drug-dealing "undetected and unpunished".

Gaon Hart, reviewing lawyer for the CPS's special crime division, said: "We believe that justice has been served for the public in this case and an extremely dangerous conspiracy has been foiled."

Bohannan carried out searches of confidential police systems after being "tasked" to do so by the dealer, "deliberately passing information to Syed Ahmed in return for free drugs and for money", prosecutors said.

The corrupt officer previously admitted his actions "compromised" police investigations as he passed information to his wife Denise, used her as an informant without telling his colleagues, and failed to report her possession of class A drugs.

His wife, who lives with him in Chapel Road, Bexleyheath, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and will also be sentenced today.

David Durose, prosecuting, told the jury the couple, who have been married for 21 years, had a "corrupt" relationship with Ahmed, who was the "co-ordinator of a drugs organisation responsible for the supply of cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis over a period of many years".

Bohannan also failed to input intelligence he gained about Ahmed on to the police system.

"He used the police computer systems corruptly and for his own ends," Mr Durose said.

At the time of the offences, on or before May 10 2007, Bohannan was a field intelligence officer with the Met's Territorial Support Group, based in Catford, south London.

Mr Durose said he worked an "enormous" number of hours, regularly clocking up 100 hours of overtime a month, and used the access the job gave him to password-protected databases "corruptly".

The court heard Bohannan was passing information to his wife which she then passed on to Ahmed.

But as her cocaine use increased, she began to give false information to score free drugs so Bohannan asked the dealer to stop giving drugs to his wife and suggested any cash payments should be made to him instead.

From then on, Ahmed would "generally" only supply Denise Bohannan with free drugs in return for particular details he had asked for.

Ahmed did not give money to Mark Bohannan as a rule, although there were a couple of occasions when payment was given in cash, Mr Durose said.

"Mr Ahmed remembers giving Mark Bohannan £200 or £300 for a check."

Michael Bromley-Martin, defending Mark Bohannan, conceded a sentence of immediate imprisonment was "inevitable" in his client's case.

Source: ' Independent '

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