Corrupt Cheshire Police officer jailed for tipping off criminal friend
The 25-year-old was arrested as part of the takedown of EncroChat
Last updated 5th Nov 2023
A corrupt Cheshire police officer who tipped off her criminal friend about a secret, international investigation into serious and organised crime has been jailed.
Natalie Mottram, 25, from Warrington, who started work with the force in 2017, was seconded to the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit as an intelligence analyst at the time of her arrest.
She was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers on 12 June 2020 as part of Operation Venetic - which is the UK's response to the take-down of the platform.
Mottram told her friend, Jonathan Kay, about it and that officers also had intelligence on him.
NCA investigators suspected that Mottram was the leak and put a plan together to catch her out.
She was asked by her bosses to analyse an intelligence log referring to Kay, who was the partner of Mottram’s close friend Leah Bennett, 38.
However, the log was bogus.
Mottram drove to Kay and Bennett's house in Warrington and let herself in, because they were all close and she had a key.
After Kay and Bennett arrived, Mottram told them about the intelligence.
Mottram, Kay, Bennett and another man were all arrested and £200,000 in cash was recovered from Kay and Bennett’s house.
Cell site and phone data showed that Mottram and Kay were together at his house for nearly two hours on 21 April and again on 24 April, when her computer records showed she was working on Operation Venetic at the time.
In August, Mottram admitted misconduct in public office, perverting the course of justice and unauthorised access to computer material.
Kay also admitted perverting the course of justice and has been jailed for 30 months.
John McKeon, head of the NCA's anti-corruption unit, said:
"Operation Venetic is a once in a generation investigation which has made a huge contribution to public protection.
"More than 1,240 offenders have been convicted, more than 173 firearms recovered and more than nine tonnes of heroin and cocaine seized. More than 200 threats to life were averted.
"But Mottram’s actions had the potential to derail all that.
"There is no place for corrupt officers in UK law enforcement and it was vital that this investigation uncovered her betrayal."
Assistant Chief Constable Jo Edwards, head of the North West ROCU, said:
"The overwhelming majority of people who work in policing do so to protect the public from harm, and they devote years of service to that end.
"Sadly, the actions of Natalie Mottram undermine the good work that is being done daily by her colleagues here at the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
"We expect our officers and staff to uphold the highest standards of professional behaviour, to maintain the trust and confidence of the communities we serve.
"Natalie’s actions fell far below the standards and values we expect. She failed in her public duty, I hope her sentence leads her to reflect on her wrong-doing and the impact this has had on victims of organised crime, herself, and her family.
"I’d like to reassure the public that the overwhelming majority of our staff at the NWROCU serve our communities with the utmost integrity and honesty.
Superintendent Simon Parsonage, Head of Professional Standards at Cheshire Constabulary, said:
"I welcome the sentence handed to Mottram and I hope that her conviction provides reassurance to our communities.
"Mottram abused her position by accessing highly sensitive data which she then shared with people outside the organisation.
"As a result of the partnership work between Cheshire Constabulary, the NCA, ROCU and the IOPC she has now been held accountable for her actions.
"As this case demonstrates nobody is above the law, and I want to reassure the public that we are committed to doing all we can to root out any officers or staff who fail to meet the high standards that the people of Cheshire expect and deserve."