Paul Chowles, a former officer with Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA), was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on July 16, 2025, after admitting to stealing 50 Bitcoin from a dark web drug trafficker. The sentencing took place at Liverpool Crown Court, marking the end of a case that exposed a shocking betrayal within law enforcement.
Chowles, 42, from Bristol, was involved in an investigation targeting the infamous Silk Road 2.0 dark web marketplace, a successor to the original Silk Road site shut down by the FBI in 2013. The NCA’s probe led to the arrest of Liverpool-based Thomas White in 2014, who was later jailed in 2019 for over five years for operating the illegal drug-selling site. During the investigation, Chowles had access to White’s cryptocurrency accounts and seized 97 Bitcoin from him.
However, 50 of those Bitcoin mysteriously disappeared from White’s digital wallet. Initially, the NCA believed White had somehow accessed and withdrawn the missing Bitcoin while in custody, but White denied any involvement. This prompted a deeper investigation by Merseyside Police, which eventually uncovered Chowles’ involvement. Chowles had exploited his position as an intelligence officer working on the case to steal the Bitcoin in May 2017.
Prosecutors revealed that Chowles transferred the stolen Bitcoin to a cryptocurrency “mixing” service called Bitcoin Fog, designed to obscure the origin of digital funds, in an attempt to cover his tracks. He then broke down the Bitcoin into smaller amounts and moved them into various bank accounts. Several notebooks found in Chowles’ office contained usernames, passwords, and statements linked to White’s cryptocurrency accounts, further implicating him in the theft.
At the time of the theft, the 50 Bitcoin were worth just under £60,000 (approximately $80,000). Since then, the value of Bitcoin has skyrocketed, and by the time of sentencing, those stolen coins were worth more than £4.4 million. Despite this, Chowles had only managed to realize around £144,580 before his arrest in 2022. Authorities also seized Bitcoin worth nearly £470,000 from Chowles during the investigation.
Following his arrest and guilty pleas to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property, Chowles was dismissed by the NCA for gross misconduct in July 2025. Judge David Aubrey, presiding over the case, warned Chowles that "Had you not been arrested, you would have continued to reap the rewards of your wrongdoing." The court’s firm sentencing reflects the severity of the breach of trust by a law enforcement officer.
Detective Chief Inspector John Black of Merseyside Police’s Force Intelligence Bureau expressed deep disappointment at the case, emphasizing its implications for public trust. "It will be extremely disappointing to everyone that someone involved in law enforcement could involve themselves in the very criminality they are tasked with investigating and preventing," he said. "This case should illustrate in the starkest terms that nobody is above the law. When it became clear that one of the NCA’s own officers had stolen Bitcoin, our officers conducted extensive enquiries to unearth a trail of evidence that Chowles had attempted to hide. He took advantage of his position on this investigation to line his own pockets while devising a plan that he believed would cover his tracks. He was wrong." Black reassured the public about the expertise of police officers in tracking illicit cryptocurrency transactions and their commitment to ensuring criminals do not profit from illegal activities.
Alex Johnson, Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, also commented on the case, highlighting Chowles’ calculated efforts to evade detection. "Chowles took advantage of his position working on this investigation by lining his own pockets while devising a plan that he believed would ensure that suspicion would never fall upon him. Once he had stolen the cryptocurrency, Paul Chowles sought to muddy the waters and cover his tracks by transferring the Bitcoin into mixing services to help hide the trail of money. He made a large amount of money through his criminality, and it is only right that he is punished for his corrupt actions," Johnson said.
The NCA’s initial misunderstanding of the Bitcoin’s disappearance underscores the challenges law enforcement faces in dealing with digital currencies. The remaining 47 Bitcoin in White’s wallet were sold by the NCA for roughly £500,000, and those funds were applied toward a £1.5 million confiscation order against White. The stolen Bitcoin’s rapid increase in value since the theft adds a dramatic financial dimension to the case.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities within even the most trusted institutions. The betrayal by an officer entrusted to fight crime shakes public confidence, but the swift and thorough investigation by Merseyside Police and the NCA demonstrates a commitment to accountability.
As cryptocurrency continues to play an increasing role in both legitimate and illicit activities, law enforcement agencies face the dual challenge of harnessing the technology's benefits while preventing its misuse. This case highlights the necessity for stringent oversight and ethical conduct within agencies tasked with policing the digital frontier.
Paul Chowles’ case is a cautionary tale of how the allure of quick financial gain can corrupt those sworn to uphold the law, but it also reflects the resilience of the justice system in uncovering and addressing such breaches. With Chowles now behind bars, the message is clear: no one, not even those inside the system, is above the law.
