A drug dealer from the United Kingdom was nabbed by authorities because he shared a photo of a block of cheese. The Merseyside Police Department said that Carl Stewart, 39, was shopping at a grocery store and shared a picture of himself holding a package of Stilton cheese.
Stewart shared the image using EncroChat, an encrypted messaging service used by criminals. He didn't realize that authorities infiltrated the platform last year, allowing them to see the messages that he was sending. When detectives saw the photo, they were able to enhance it and analyze Stewart's fingerprints and palm prints to identify him.
He was taken into custody and pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and ketamine and transferring criminal property.
"Carl Stewart was involved in supplying large amounts of class A and B drugs but was caught out by his love of stilton cheese after sharing a picture of a block of it in his hand through EncroChat. His palm and fingerprints were analyzed from this picture, and it was established they belonged to Stewart," Detective Inspector Lee Wilkinson said in a statement.
Stewart was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years behind bars.
Photo: Merseyside Police Department