A drug dealer has been jailed after he inadvertently exposed his identity by sharing a picture of his drug-encrusted finger.
Kane Molyneux, 33, from Liverpool, played a ‘significant role’ in an international network ‘involved in the large-scale supply’ of heroine, cocaine and other banned substances, police say.
It saw him peddling drugs ‘on the streets of Merseyside’ while dealing with suppliers based in the Netherlands.
The gang used EncroChat, a mobile communications network which became popular among criminals as it was thought to be uncrackable until a British-Dutch-French taskforce infiltrated it in 2020.
A device obtained during a wider British investigation into EncroChat-encrypted phones was found to contain a number of messages and photos sent by an EncroChat user by the nickname ‘Sauvesage’.
The user had avoided overtly disclosing his identity, but shared one close-up photo of an index-finger covered in a pink substance.
Sauvesage referred to the substance as ‘pink’, a street name for the psychoactive Class A substance 2C-P.
In the background of the photo the tip of a thumb can be clearly seen.
Investigators lifted fingerprint information from the photo and matched it to Molyneux’s fingerprints.
‘Other evidence retrieved from the device showed him playing a significant role in conspiracy to supply,’ police added.
The 33-year-old was arrested in Manchester Airport attempting to board a flight to Dubai the day before Christmas Eve last year.
Molyneux was sentenced on Friday to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B substances.
Detective Sergeant Craig Doyle said: ‘Our work will go on to target other people involved in this type of criminality.’
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