How did the police officer end up becoming a thief?
The theft occurred in 2017 when the cryptocurrency was valued at a total of approximately 60,000 British pounds (around $79,000). By the time Chowles was caught, the crypto’s value had surged to over 4.4 million pounds (around $5.9 million). The 42-year-old officer from Bristol used the dark web and crypto-mixing services to split the stolen Bitcoin into smaller amounts, transferring them through crypto exchanges and prepaid cards to conceal their source.
Initially, investigators suspected White had somehow regained access to his funds while in custody, but detailed blockchain analysis revealed Chowles as the culprit. His arrest, conviction and five-and-a-half-year sentence demonstrate that blockchain’s traceability can expose even insiders, proving no one is above the law.
