A cocky teenager found out the hard way that posting selfies of himself with the cash he'd made from dealing cocaine wasn't the brightest of ideas - and has wound up in court.
Adam O'Reilly, 18, had been bragging to his friends about how much money he'd been making selling the class A drug and went as far as sending them a series of pictures of himself flaunting wads of banknotes earned from his dubious entrepreneurship.
Unfortunately for him it all came crashing down when days later he was subject to a raid on his home in Abertridwr, near Caerphilly in south Wales.
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Police found the pictures on his phone, which led them to discover more than £6,000 ($7,800) in cash, as well as £3,700 ($4,800) worth of cocaine and £3,000 ($3,900) of ketamine.
Defending O'Reilly at Cardiff Crown Court, barrister Paul Hewitt said: "The photos on the phone were rather stupid. It was bravado to show how much money he's got.
"He is a young 18-year-old boy from the valleys who doesn't appreciate what he has done. He was showing off to his friends as a child would do."
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However, prosecutor Eugene Egan explained that as well as the photos on his phone, there were also messages offering customers cocaine at £1,300 ($1,700) per ounce, while he was also looking to buy the drug in £5,000 ($6,500) batches.
There were also Facebook messages detailing ecstasy deals and texts relating to the trafficking of ketamine.
Mr Egan said: "There were photographs of him with large amounts of cash and Snapchat videos offering drugs for sale."
O'Reilly ultimately pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the class A and B drugs and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
Mr Hewitt said: "The defendant realises how silly he has been. These are the best years of his life which he is going to waste away."
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And waste them away he will, as Recorder Greg Bull QC sent O'Reilly to a young offenders institution for three years. He will also face Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings which could mean he'll lose his money.
Bull told O'Reilly: "The raid on your home revealed you had a substantial amount of cash and a substantial amount of class A drugs valued at many thousands of pounds.
"People who deal in class A drugs deal in death. You were high up in the chain of supply."
Outside the court, investigating officer PC Iwan Adams told press: "We welcome today's sentence which I hope sends a message that we will not tolerate the supply of drugs in our communities.
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"Officers seized a substantial amount of class A drugs and thousands in cash during a warrant at the defendant's home.
"These drugs would otherwise have made it onto the streets of Gwent causing misery in our communities."
A solemn reminder that illegal activities should be kept on the down low - or better yet not done at all.
Featured Image Credit: Wales News Service