Snapchat dealer caught by scorpion tattoo jailed

A teenager who flaunted cocaine and bundles of cash on Snapchat has been locked up after his distinctive scorpion tattoo helped police identify him.

Tristan Wilson’s downfall began when a concerned member of the public tipped off officers about his suspected drug dealing activities in July last year. When police approached the then-18-year-old to search him, he pulled himself free and fled the scene.

Officers later raided his Ebbw Vale home in October, uncovering weighing scales contaminated with white powder traces and an unlocked iPhone. The phone contained damning messages revealing his involvement in cocaine supply, alongside images of Wilson posing with the Class A drug and what appeared to be wads of cash – later confirmed to be fake.

His distinctive scorpion tattoo proved crucial in identifying him in the photographs.

But Wilson’s criminal behaviour extended beyond drug dealing. Cardiff Crown Court heard he was also charged with affray following a violent confrontation outside a Wetherspoons pub in Ebbw Vale around 10pm on May 12, 2023.

A group of males had been riding mopeds outside the venue when door staff asked them to stop. One member threatened to “f***ing stab” the doorman and told him they knew where he lived, whilst another revved his moped engine whilst pointing the bike directly at security staff.

Wilson, who was just 16 at the time, and another male then began hurling glass bottles at the door staff. One security worker suffered a collarbone wound and required hospital treatment to have a glass shard removed. Forensic testing later found Wilson’s fingerprints on one of the glass shards.

The now 19-year-old, of Heol Yr Ysgol in Ebbw Vale, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, obstructing an officer in the exercise of powers of a search, and affray. He had eight previous convictions for 21 offences, including violence and breaching court orders.

Defence barrister Jeffrey Jones told the court: “He was a user of cocaine himself at the time and those were small deals to friends. It has been his first time inside a prison, and of course an adult prison. He appears to be much chastened by prison and not motivated to return.”

Mr Jones added that Wilson had a “fractured and bad start in life” but was “motivated to lead an honest life going forward”.

Judge Paul Thomas KC sentenced Wilson to a total of two years and four months in a Young Offender Institution.