A COCAINE dealer was caught while he was being investigated for posting revenge porn pictures of a woman on the Tumblr website.
When Daniel Davies’ iPhone 5 was seized by Gwent Police he refused to give officers his PIN.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that such devices are “almost impossible” to unlock without it.
The device was sent from Gwent to expert colleagues in the Metropolitan Police who managed to decrypt the phone – but it took more than two years.
MORE NEWS
- Animal cruelty woman jailed after breaching suspended jail sentence
- Knifeman jailed for having blade in shopping centre
- Dealers who ran Gwent drugs network to repay nearly all their dirty money
When they did, prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said, they found evidence which implicated him in other crimes.
Davies, 27, of Darby Crescent, Ebbw Vale, was jailed after he was also discovered to have an extreme bestiality pornographic image stored on the phone.
Mr Gobir said: “The defendant was arrested for revenge porn and his mobile phone was seized.
“He denied the allegation and he refused to provide the PIN for his iPhone 5.
“It is almost impossible to get into them without the PIN. It is a very complicated and time-consuming operation.”
The court heard that when the Met cracked the code, it revealed the drug-related text messages and the bestiality image.
Mr Gobir said: “The defendant had been sourcing cocaine from an upstream supplier and had been offering to supply it to his customers, but on tick.
“There were messages chasing payment, threatening customers with violence if they didn’t pay up what they owed.”
The prosecutor said the revenge porn victim had made an impact statement.
Mr Gobir told Judge Richard Twomlow: “She said she feels anxious and nervous about the images of her being shared on the internet.
“She feels helpless about who can view or share them. It has made her feel paranoid and it has affected her self-esteem.
“She is scared of the repercussions. People have sent her links to the photos so she knows they are still out there.”
Davies pleaded guilty to disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress, possessing an extreme pornographic image and being concerned in making an offer to supply cocaine.
Stephen Thomas, mitigating, said his client understood he had caused “very serious distress” to the revenge porn victim.
His barrister added that defendant had been trafficking drugs to fund his own habit.
Judge Twomlow told Davies: “You caused your victim a great deal of embarrassment.
“Revenge porn is a callous and mean offence and this is an example of that.”
He added that the defendant had been “highly involved in the supply of cocaine” and said “the delay in this case is partly down to you”.
Davies was jailed for three years and made the subject of a restraining order for the same period of time.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article