A police consultant denied that he had advised an officer to pretend to be corrupt to extract information from a source.

Andrew Jones, who worked with the Bermuda Police Service as an information co-ordinator, said he had given Jonathan McAlpine-Talbot advice and guidance about handling confidential sources.

However, he denied that he had directed Mr McAlpine-Talbot to pose as a corrupt officer, stating: “That would never, never happen.”

Mr Jones also denied that he had authorised Mr McAlpine-Talbot to commit any criminal activity as part of an investigation.

Mr McAlpine-Talbot and Ezekiel Swan have denied allegations that they conspired with others to import and supply firearms and ammunition between an unknown date and November 14, 2023.

Both men have also denied allegations of conspiring to import and supply controlled drugs between an unknown date and December 2, 2023.

Mr McAlpine-Talbot, a former sergeant in the Bermuda Police Service, also denied a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice by improperly sharing information into the investigation of the murder of Wilfred Outerbridge Jr.

Last week, the court heard that Mr McAlpine-Talbot had been working with a confidential source, who was given the pseudonym “Jane Costa”, to gather information about criminal activity.

However, the relationship between the former officer and the source was drawn into question in December 2023 when the source was arrested on suspicion of murdering Mr Outerbridge.

As the trial continued yesterday, Mr Jones said that he began to assist Mr McAlpine-Talbot with the source in 2020.

He said: “[Mr McAlpine-Talbot] gave me an account of how he knew the source and what value the source could give and a bit of background of what he was involved in.

“He told me that the individual was able to hang out with various criminals that we had an interest in at that time and obtain information by listening to what they said.”

Mr Jones said that he was informed the source was a “low-level” criminal in that they used cannabis, noting that sources who are still actively involved in more serious criminal activity are higher-risk.

He said: “In my experience those individuals are the most devious, the most manipulative and the most dangerous.”

Mr Jones said that Mr McAlpine-Talbot had provided him with information about criminal activity provided by the source, and he had reached out to the defendant to ask the source about some investigations.

He confirmed that he had contacted Mr McAlpine-Talbot to determine if he had any information about the murder of Mr Outerbridge, adding: “Had he provided any information, I would have recorded it.”

Mr Jones said the first he heard that the source was themself dealing drugs was in a December 2023 report by Mr McAlpine-Talbot.

He said: “I never had any indication that there was anything in relation to the source that changed. He didn’t tell me anything had changed and I never had reason to doubt that.”

Mr Jones told the court that Mr McAlpine-Talbot would regularly communicate with him on WhatsApp, but they would also occasionally speak on the phone or in person.

He recalled that on November 14, 2023, they had met at a Hamilton bar and that he had given the defendant advice on where to stay and what to do during an upcoming visit to the City.

Mr Jones told the court that during the conversation, Mr McAlpine-Talbot had said nothing about what he had done the previous night or provided any information about the smuggling of guns, drugs or cannabis into the country.

He said that the defendant did contact him later that month in connection with a drug plot involving Bermudians in the Dominican Republic, but said that the information was completely unrelated to the case before the court.

Jurors were also shown a series of WhatsApp messages between Mr Jones and Mr McAlpine-Talbot in which they referenced a range of cases from missing persons to murder.

Mr Jones said the source had provided good information on some matters, while in other cases the information was potentially good but required additional details.

He said that in the conversations, he had tried to get Mr McAlpine-Talbot to convince the source to take part in a formal confidential information programme, which would require that they give their name, but Mr McAlpine-Talbot said the source would not do it.

Although Mr Jones responded in the messages that he would speak with the Commissioner of Police about alternatives, he told the court that he did not mean it because he was already aware of the commissioner’s position that all sources should be part of the programme.

Questioned about the messages, Mr Jones also acknowledged that he was aware Mr McAlpine-Talbot had an issue with one of the other officers in the department.

The trial continues.

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