Lockdown haircut helped police track down EncroChat drug trafficker dubbed 'Sylvester the Cat' who fled to Holland

A heroin and cocaine trafficker known as 'Sylvester the Cat' fled the country after his lockdown haircut brought the police to his door.

Terence Wilson called on criminal contacts overseas as he traded class A and B drugs in huge quantities over encrypted communications platform EncroChat. He later fled the country when officers came knocking, his secret identity having been rumbled by pictures he had sent to fellow service users - including a selfie showing his makeshift trim amid Covid-19 restrictions - and them wishing him a happy birthday.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Friday, that the 38-year-old was identified as the user of the handle 'SlyvesterTheCat' after the network was infiltrated by law enforcement in 2020. Henry Riding, prosecuting, described how others had his codename stored in their own devices under the names 'Terence' and 'Tez', while he also gave out his postcode and street name.

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Pictures he had sent to his contacts showed the balcony of his home at Alexander Mansions on Quarry Way in Huyton as well as the interior of the address, while he had also shared a photo of his lockdown haircut and images of his three-year-old daughter, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Wilson was found to have also referenced the anniversary of his child's death in 2016 during his communications, while associates wished him a happy birthday on his 35th on April 1, 2020.

He also mentioned his partner's name and spoke of her being pregnant, even disclosing the name which had been chosen for the then unborn baby. Tick lists were later seized when Merseyside Police raided his home - the front door of which was protected with