Drug Dealer in Wales Caught After Sharing Finger Photo in WhatsApp

Police in Wales have arrested three members of a criminal group suspected of distributing ecstasy. The suspects were linked to the crime thanks to an unexpected clue. Recently, police obtained a phone belonging to one of the suspects, which contained photos of ecstasy tablets in WhatsApp. In one of the images, a man’s hand holding the tablets was clearly visible.

Unfortunately for the police, only two fingers were clearly shown in the photo. After tracing the fingerprints from the image and checking them against their database, they were unable to identify the owner of the hand or the tablets. However, investigators used other pieces of information from the phones, such as tracking who sent the photo and from where. This eventually led to the arrest of the dealers.

Now, the photo of the fingers and their prints, along with other evidence, have been added to the case files and will be examined in court. Of course, fingerprint images are only circumstantial evidence. For example, how can the police prove that the tablets are actually ecstasy? Still, British journalists claim this case is historic—never before have finger photos from WhatsApp been used as evidence, at least not in Wales. Combined with other evidence, the photo could be enough to convict the dealer.

Not the First Time Fingerprints from Photos Were Used

Although this is the first drug-related arrest of its kind in Wales, it’s not the first time fingerprints from a photo have been used to identify a criminal. In 2015, law enforcement officers arrested and convicted a child pornography producer using a photo of his hand that appeared in his illegal materials.

A Warning to Growers and Social Media Users

If you’re involved in illegal activities, especially something as serious as child pornography, we hope you get caught as soon as possible. But for regular people, this case serves as a warning. It may seem trivial, but for police—especially in Russia—finding a grower is always a big win, and they’re eager to make such cases public. Sometimes it’s surprising how careless some people are, posting photos of their marijuana plants with geotags in grower chats, or even sharing photos of their hands. Don’t do this! As you can see, if British police are using these methods, you can be sure others are too. Getting caught this way would be doubly embarrassing!