UNDERCOVER police officers posed as drug addicts to sell 'stolen' goods to three Oxford men, a jury was told.

Oxford Crown Court heard that the three officers, who disguised their identities, offered the men cheap laptops, DVDs and alcohol, admitting they were stolen when questioned.

Prosecutor Jennifer Edwards said the undercover operation took place in March this year, at a number of locations in Oxford.

She said during the transactions, the officers made reference to "going out grafting" and requested that the transactions were "on the quiet".

She added: "The transactions that the Crown then say took place were conducted in such a way that the defendents knew or suspected that the items that they were acquiring were not legitimate."

Zafran Abbasi, 28, of Gaisford Road, Cowley, Oxford, denies four counts of attempting to handle stolen goods; James Sofidiya, 22, of Ridgefield Road, East Oxford, denies one count of the same charge, and Oghenetega Oketete, 20, of Gerard Place, Cowley, Oxford, denies three counts of the same charge.

A fourth man, 19-year-old Godfrey Muiruri, of Furlong Close, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, has admitted four counts of attempting to handle stolen goods.

Giving evidence from behind screens, an officer who went under the alias 'Baz' described a transaction with Oketete on March 12. He told the jury he and two other officers had gone to U-Phones, in Cowley Road, where one of his colleagues asked Abbasi and Oketete if they wanted to buy a laptop.

After Abbasi told them, "Can you take this outside?", the group went out into nearby Leopold Street and 'Baz' said he then showed Oketete the laptop.

"He was asking where it was from," he said. "I told him, 'You know where it's from'.

"He responded by saying something like, 'Just tell me, is it stolen?'. I said 'Yes mate, course it is' and he said, 'That's good, that's standard'."

The court heard Oketete then rang someone and asked them to bring £80 - the amount 'Baz' had requested for the computer.

After Oketete made a phone call, a car turned up and the men inside produced the cash.

'Baz' and Oketete then swapped telephone numbers.

The undercover police officer said that later that evening Oketete had telephoned him and asked him if he had any more items.

He said: "I told him I didn't have anything and that I'd just sold them the laptop.

"He asked me if I could get anything and I said, "I don't know, mate. I'll go out grafting tonight and see what I can get, OK?"

The officer told the court that the term "grafting" was a common street term for burglary or dealing drugs.

The case continues.