A former commanding officer of an RCMP detachment in the B.C. Interior pleaded guilty to a charge of breach of trust in a Kelowna courtroom Tuesday.

Stuart Seib was a staff sergeant at the Merritt detachment in January of 2012, when he was arrested for allegedly stealing cocaine that had been stored as evidence in the detachment lockup.

Seib was not present in court on Tuesday, but a guilty plea was entered by an agent on his behalf.

Crown prosecutor Sheryl Wagner said a full audit was done of all the evidence at the Merritt detachment, and following that Seib was charged with theft under $5,000.

The special prosecutions branch of Crown Council laid a further charge under Section 122 of the Criminal Code, of breach of trust by a public officer.

Wagner told CBC News the breach of trust relates to the charge of theft, and as a result the two charges were incorporated as one in the breach of trust charge, which can result in a prison term of up to five years.

Wagner said Seib will be back in court in about two months for sentencing.

Seib had served more than 18 years with the RCMP before he was suspended in January last year. He was still on RCMP payroll following the suspension, but he resigned from the force in May.

With files from the CBC's David French