Cop, 20, banned for life after she’s caught out with her criminal boyfriend
Maryam Ilyas was training with West Yorkshire Police when she accessed confidential systems
Maryam Ilyas has been banned from policing(Image: Facebook)
A corrupt trainee police officer has been expelled from the force and banned for life after she passed on confidential information to her drug dealer boyfriend.
Maryam Ilyas accessed West Yorkshire Police computers while training as an officer, seeking out confidential details about her boyfriend, according to the service. Between March and May 2025, the 20-year-old searched the systems three times for information about the unnamed man, subsequently informing him that he was the target of an ongoing undercover criminal operation.
The police didn’t uncover her connection to the unnamed drug dealer until several months after her initial breach in June, when they discovered that the pair had been exchanging messages about money and drugs.
The tribunal heard the criminal had sent images showing a “large amount of money” to the former trainee, and that the two had discussed drug dealing. She was found to have given him confidential information and pictures about the police operation, and shown him his profile on the force’s systems.
During a disciplinary hearing against Ilyas, it was revealed that she had failed to inform the service of her relationship with the man after being recruited in 2024, telling investigators in January that she was “unaware of his criminal history”, reports the Mirror.
However, Catherine Hankinson, West Yorkshire’s deputy chief constable, found that messages between the pair indicated an “existing relationship”. The relationship continued until July 2025, and a panel found that even though she had resigned before the hearing concluded, their connections would have led to her dismissal from the service.
Deputy Chief Constable Hankinson stated that the officer’s conduct was “repeated”, “sustained” and “intentional”, adding it was a “disservice to the public and to her colleagues”.
She said: “The public rightly expect police officers to act with honesty and integrity. The vast majority of officers in West Yorkshire Police do uphold those high standards. The conduct of the former officer does a disservice to the public and to her colleagues.”
Ilyas was ultimately found to have committed gross misconduct. She initially denied any wrongdoing in the case, telling The Sun she was a “student officer” who was new to the job. She said: “I was a student officer. I was really new to all this and I feel like I was expected to know everything straight away.”
Ilyas later admitted the allegations, which included failing to declare the relationship with the dealer on her police vetting form, and was banned from policing for life.