A former police constable has been found guilty of stealing a Rolex watch during a search operation.

Kevin Scott Williams, 51, was told by Deemster Farrell that a jail term was ’almost inevitable’.

A jury of six men and one woman delivered their guilty verdict at 4pm today after deliberating for an hour and a half.

Willams, who resigned from the Manx Constabulary on February 5 this year, closed his eyes as the guilty verdict was read out by the jury foreman.

Taking the stand the day yesterday on the third day of his trial at the Court of General Gaol Delivery, he admitted that he had pleaded guilty last month to stealing £60,000 from the Isle of Man Police Federation, for which he had acted as chairman, between 2011 and 2017.

He will be sentenced at noon tomorrow.

The court heard that Williams had been the lead police search adviser for the Manx police.

He was the planning and logistics officer for a joint police, UK National Crime Agency and HMRC operation codenamed Braid carried out in March 2015.

In September 2017, a silver Rolex watch, valued at £6,750 was found in a bag in his office at police headquarters.

The watch belonged to businessman Paul Bell, whose then home in Manor Park, Onchan, had been searched as part of Operation Braid.

Prosecutor James Robinson said it was an aggravated breach of trust.

Williams was remanded in custody to await sentencing.