Merseyside drug dealer caught after photo found on his phone
- Published
Ryan Palin was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and amphetamine
A drug dealer was identified and caught after police found a photograph on his mobile phone of a distinctive mural.
Cocaine and amphetamines dealer Ryan Palin, 36, had been using an encrypted phone service, said Merseyside Police.
Palin's downfall came when detectives discovered an image of mixed martial artist Connor McGregor matched a mural on a wall of his home in Caldy, Wirral.
Palin was sentenced to 29 years in prison after being found guilty at an earlier trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
He was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs.
A distinctive mural of Connor McGregor on Palin's wall was found on an encrypted phone
Palin was arrested as part of a Europe-wide operation which saw law enforcement agencies working with the National Crime Agency, UK police and Regional Organised Crime Units.
They managed to crack the Encrochat service often used by criminals involved in serious and organised crime.
Data from encrypted phones showed Palin had been using the handle Titch.com, and was involved in a plot to supply 700kg (1,543lbs) of cocaine, 15kg (33lbs) of heroin and 40kg (88lbs) of amphetamine between July 2019 and May 2020.
The image of the mural on the encrypted phone proved key to bringing Palin to justice.
'No stone unturned'
A raid on his home in December 2021 found luxury clothes worth £136,000 and watches worth £129,000. All were seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Det Sgt Graeme Kehoe said: "We welcome today's verdict and sentence and now that Ryan Palin is behind bars and can no longer peddle huge amounts of drugs and misery on the streets of Merseyside and beyond.
"Merseyside Police, along with law enforcement agencies across the world, will leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of those people who think they are above the law, and we will continue to target anyone involved in serious organised crime to keep this positive momentum going."
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