A police officer from The Hague has been jailed for four years for bribery, attempted burglary and membership of a criminal organisation after passing on information about illegal marijuana plantations to others.

Amine A, who is 29 and was arrested last June, has also been banned from working as a civil servant for nine years, news agency ANP reported.

The court found that between 2015 and 2016, A had combed police files looking for information about plantations and drugs storage locations which he sold to a friend, named as Yassine H.

H is accused of breaking into dozens of addresses he had been given by A and emptying them of drugs before police could raid the premises. He was jailed for 3.5 years.

Two of A’s brothers were also jailed for three and four months for stealing the marijuana but were found not guilty of membership of a criminal organisation.

According to the Telegraaf, A had been reprimanded for his close ties to known criminals in Gouda during his training period but had, nevertheless, been cleared to join the force.

In 2015, another police officer, named as Mark M, was arrested on charges of leaking information about more than 100 criminal investigations to gang members.