THE wife of a former detective sergeant has lodged a complaint with police watchdogs after being accused of dealing class A drugs.

Susan Thompson worked as a housing company executive and enjoyed a 27 year career, but she was accused of supplying cocaine for her friends while her husband, Paul Thompson, kept watch.

Thompson, 43, a former detective sergeant with Northumbria Police, developed a drug habit after the death of his father.

He resigned from his post with Northumbria Police in February 2011 when the allegations came to light.

Mrs Thompson, 45, admitted she and her husband took a Viagra substitute, but denies ever taking cocaine or knowing her husband had a problem.

Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court last March, the couple, from Dipton, near Stanley, walked free after being cleared of helping a drugs gang ship nearly £1m of the Class A drug.

They were found not guilty of conspiracy to cocaine and the jury accepted that the couple had been selling a Viagra substitute called Kamagra to friends but not illegal drugs.

Mrs Thompson has handed a 45-page document to the Independent Police Complaints Commission making serious allegations against Northumbria Police.

It is understood that a team of officers are reviewing the complaint before their findings are passed back to the IPCC.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: “We can confirm we have received a complaint via the IPCC from Susan Thompson, containing a number of allegations which are being investigated.

“We are in regular contact with Mrs Thompson and we are working with her to try to reach a solution to her concerns.”

The couple declined to comment, saying it was “inappropriate to discuss the IPCC investigation until its conclusion”.

Paul Thompson was convicted of three counts of cocaine possession and one count of misconduct in a public office after he used the force’s database to check on his tenants, but was cleared of using the police computer to help a criminal gang. He was fined a total of £1,000.