A MERSEYSIDE police officer is behind bars after being caught transporting 1kg of skunk cannabis with a “professional dealer”.

PC Sayful Islam was branded a “bad apple in the police barrel” by Judge Gerald Clifton who jailed him for 18 months after he was stopped with £5,000 worth of high quality cannabis in the boot of his BMW.

Islam, 25, of Cranbourne Road, Wavertree, admitted one count of possession with intent to supply.

The judge said: “The public rightly expect their police officers to obey the law, not be involved in its contravention in a serious matter like this.”

Liverpool Crown Court heard that during 2008 suspicion fell on Islam.

A bug was placed in his car and it captured a telephone call on September 6 last year, between him and a convicted drug dealer arranging to collect “the green”.

Prosecutor Paul Greaney said officers watched as Islam and his accomplice, who cannot be named for legal reasons but whom he knew from police briefings as a “big criminal”, drove 90 miles to Walsall to pick up the drugs.

During the drive Islam texted his shift sergeant and rang a colleague claiming a relative had fallen ill to explain why he would be late for his night shift. They were stopped by police on their way back to Merseyside.

When confronted with the probe evidence Islam refused to comment.

Geoffrey Lowe, defending, said Islam had resorted to dealing to pay off debts.

He added: “He is contrite, he has lost a great deal.”

His accomplice, who has four previous drug convictions, was jailed for two years and eight months.