A Border Force officer who moonlighted as a drug dealer has been jailed after being caught trying to sell 5,000 MDMA pills.

Gareth Davies, 44, of Cleves Way, Ashford, was arrested in January 2020 by officers from the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) anti-corruption unit.

The 44-year-old was working as a field intelligence officer for Border Force in Folkestone when he became the subject of an investigation after the NCA was tipped off he may be involved in drug supply.

Davies was put under surveillance in late 2019, with the probe including a range of undercover tactics.

Over the following weeks, he had a number of meetings with a contact he arranged to sell drugs to.

On January 21, 2020, Davies supplied four pills to the ‘customer’ as a taster – with a promise of 5,000 more to follow.

Following the illegal trade, Davies was arrested and searches of his car and home led to the recovery of a lock knife, rambo knife, a machete, two knuckle dusters and a baton that should have been returned when he left a previous job with the prison service.

Davies was subsequently charged with two counts of supplying class A drugs and dismissed from his role at Border Force.

He pleaded guilty last month to both counts and was jailed today at Maidstone Crown Court for five years and 11 months.

Dave Rock, from the NCA’s anti-corruption unit, said: “It is a priority for the NCA to tackle insider threat and corruption at the border, and we work extremely closely with our colleagues at Border Force every day to prevent illegal drugs entering the UK.

“Davies thought he was beyond the reach of the law, willingly disclosing information that revealed his criminality.

“The class A drugs trade has a devastating impact on communities across the country, and Davies’ conviction today is a reminder to anyone involved that all those who play a part in it, however large or small, will face justice.”