He dealt in cocaine, heroin and the like, but what finally exposed him was just cheese! His mistake: Sending a photo of him holding a piece of Stilton blue cheese in his hand. Recorded with a crypto cell phone.
Last Friday, Carl S. * (39) from Liverpool was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison, as the local police announced. After the investigators caught him because of his “love for cheese”, he is said to have confessed to the crime: drug trafficking in cocaine, heroin, ketamine and MDMA.
Stewart had an Encrochat branded cell phone. The devices are characterized by a high level of protection with strongly encrypted chat systems – they should be almost impossible to crack. This makes the crypto cell phones particularly popular with criminals. Nevertheless, a team of investigators managed to gain access to data that provided insight into organized crime.
Crypto cell phone cracked by police
Drug dealer Carl S. is also said to have used such a crypto cell phone under the name “Toffeeforce”. Via one of the chats, he sent the cheese picture with his hand on it. The image ended up in the investigators’ hands, who then analyzed his palm and fingerprints.
But the S. case will not be the only arrest, as the local police say. In Great Britain around 10,000 people are said to communicate using crypto cell phones, and they all seem to have a mess that is now coming to light: “They were all coordinating and planning the delivery and distribution of drugs and weapons, money laundering and involved in other criminal activities », explains the British police. (ouch)