Temporary Sergeant Daniel Hughes, 40, a 20-year veteran of Merseyside Police, was sentenced to a 12-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, after being found guilty of unauthorized access to computer material and disclosing personal data. He had maintained longstanding friendships with serious organized crime figures who used the encrypted EncroChat network.
Double life revealed
Hughes, who was injured in two violent incidents while on duty, socialized with criminals, went on holiday with them, and attended race meetings. He also conducted unauthorized intelligence searches on them. However, it was established that he did not directly disclose the contents of restricted files to his criminal contacts or gain financially from his searches, but he did share gossip about other ongoing cases in a WhatsApp group chat.
Manchester Crown Court heard that between 2016 and 2021, Hughes used the police national computer (PNC) and Merseyside Police's Niche network to conduct repeated searches on individuals including Steven Noone, Phillip Lam, Anthony Harrison, and Frederick Connolly.
Unauthorized searches
Hughes accessed intelligence reports relating to Noone, who was under investigation for a large-scale fraud operation involving stolen credit cards used for luxury holidays. He also examined logs concerning Noone's money laundering and searched records on Noone's partner and her relatives. In a WhatsApp group chat, he messaged a senior Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutor, asking "guess how much Noone's [proceeds of crime] confiscation is", then answered "just over a mill".
He also ran searches on Lam, who was implicated in the credit card fraud and later identified as the EncroChat alias "WearyDog", trafficking drugs. Hughes made repeated checks on Harrison, later identified as "WalkTheDog", and evidence linking the handle to Harrison was retrieved from Hughes' phone after his arrest. He also searched on Connolly, who operated under "MadeiraBlue".
Gossipy exchanges
The court heard that Hughes performed an authorized search on a property belonging to a suspect whose partner worked for the CPS, then posted in the WhatsApp group that their lifestyle "oozed money". The suspect was never found guilty. He also accessed files on Anthony O'Reilly, involved in supplying multi-kilo quantities of cannabis, and sent a message saying "that Tony in the gym said he's gonna get me some delivery work", later clarifying "he's the main weed dealer in Liverpool, kilos only".
Prosecutor Laura Barbour described his offending as "snooping" that led to "gossipy" exchanges, with no evidence of financial gain. Hughes was arrested in March 2022 in connection with an unrelated matter, which triggered an investigation. Even after arrest, he continued to exchange messages about social engagements, including "trips to the races".
Sentencing and mitigation
Hughes, of Armstrong Quay in Dingle, was found guilty by a jury on eight counts of unauthorized access and three counts of disclosing personal data, but acquitted of dozens of other charges. He was suspended and later dismissed from Merseyside Police after a misconduct hearing he refused to attend.
In mitigation, defence counsel Chloe Fordham said Hughes socialized with people under investigation but there was no evidence of support, and they were on the periphery of his social life. She highlighted his dedication, his autism, and injuries sustained on duty, including being stabbed in 2016 and seriously assaulted with a broken bottle in 2019. He was determined to have PTSD. Fordham argued for a non-custodial sentence, noting the loss of his job and pension as a deterrent, and that he had found agency work as a delivery driver.
Judge Alan Conrad KC acknowledged Hughes did not offend for financial gain or to assist criminals, but said "you became far too close to these people". He described the conduct as "snooping" but noted it was persistent over a considerable period and undermined public confidence in the police. Hughes was ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation days, 250 hours of unpaid work, and pay a fine of £750.
After sentencing, Olivia Travis from the CPS's Mersey-Cheshire complex casework unit said: "Daniel Hughes was a corrupt police officer who abused his position to access sensitive information. He maintained longstanding relationships with offenders involved in drugs and firearms, which he deliberately concealed despite a clear duty to declare them. Hughes received training on the proper handling of police information but chose to ignore it. His actions demonstrated a complete disregard for the trust placed in him and for the integrity of the criminal justice system. The jury has rejected his account that he was acting in the course of his duties. He has now been held accountable for his criminal conduct."
