A single text message, hidden amongst thousands, nails a serial fraudster; and an extraordinary surveillance operation leads straight to the kidnappers – and their hostage.
A regular pair of pyjamas reveals the shocking true identity of an attacker who left his victim for dead, and a bright yellow baseball cap puts a daylight robber behind bars.
How a discarded scrap of paper found in a household bin helps convict a cold-blooded killer; and a distinctive mole holds the key to tracking down a dangerous and predatory attacker.
How a single glove reveals the identities of a prolific and violent gang, and an image of a distinctive ponytail solves a hi-tech bank heist.
A plastic bag heat sealer convicts an online drug trafficker, and a casual chat with a criminal, plus a map, join the dots to catch three burglars terrorising a neighbourhood.
A scribbled name in a discarded notebook is the key to putting a dangerous driver behind bars, and the serial numbers on stolen bank notes crack the mystery of a dangerous gang wreaking havoc in the capital.
A wedding video helps crack the case of a teenage abduction, and an expired pilot's licence exposes a fraudster flying under the radar.
A vehicle's satnav puts a pair of prolific animal thieves behind bars, and an anonymous letter holds the key to the identity of a blackmailer on a mission to poison babies.
A hoodie helps police take a dangerous attacker off our streets, and a car's satnav reveals the mastermind behind the biggest armed robbery ever to hit Devon and Cornwall.
A distinctive hat leads police to a prolific gang stealing bank cards, and one careless text message puts a dangerous stalker behind bars for the longest sentence in a police force's history.
A distinctive sticker on a laptop finally links a man to a string of burglaries that had terrified an entire community, and a shiny copper hair dye puts a dangerous armed robber behind bars.
How a distinctive wallpaper pattern exposed the lies of a con-woman who claimed to be suffering from a rare cancer. And a hidden compartment in a car holds the key to convicting a gang of stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from UK charities.
A grainy video from a petrol station forecourt helps convict a gang of cold-blooded killers, and a criminal's mobile phone finally connects an unscrupulous gang targeting the vulnerable.
A simple business card reveals the true identities of a gang of con artists, and a ripped-up, handwritten note holds the key to locking away two murderers.
A discarded gun cartridge helps the police to convict a man who gunned down a fellow officer, and a packet of medication helps to lock up a gang of violent jewellery thieves.
How police tracked a yacht being used to smuggle deadly weapons into Britain. Plus, a prison phone call helps jail a bank cashier for arranging to steal thousands.
A discarded cigarette butt helps catch the murderers of a young father and a struck matchstick puts an arsonist of a Tudor building behind bars.
An airport hire car helps bring a pair of international hitmen to justice after a private investigator is murdered, and a bottle of Caribbean rum convicts a prolific burglar.
A train ticket and a chance encounter help hunt down a pair of high-tech international fraudsters, and a bottle of milk seals a case against a violent offender.
A blood-stained shopping trolley holds the key to solving a vicious assault, and a pair of distinctive curtains puts a phone thief behind bars. Narrated by Chuku Modu.
A drug boss is put behind bars thanks to a paper trail from his dodgy property empire, and an observant cashier helps convict a fraudster who is posing as a police officer.
A mobile phone hidden in a bundle of clothes helps save a young woman from a forced marriage in Pakistan. British embassy staff arrange for her escape back to family in the UK. Elsewhere, a burnt tea towel helps convict a gang of a callous shooting. Members of the gang are traced using mobile phone data, but not before the victim suffers life-changing injuries.
Bank notes stained with red dye hold the key to tracking down a brazen bank robber. Police trace him to the seaside town of Great Yarmouth, where they raid a static caravan being used as a hideout.
A packet of wet wipes helps convict a driver responsible for a deadly hit and run. A young father tragically loses his life as the offender denies any responsibility. Elsewhere, a distinctive tracksuit puts a gang of ruthless thieves behind bars. They threaten the victim with boiling water, unless he turns over his bank card PIN.
A travel card holds the key to convicting a violent offender after a spate of random stabbings. Police taser the man whilst he brandishes weapons on a public street. Also, a bureau de change receipt helps put a pair of thieves behind bars after they subject their victim to a terrifying ordeal.
DNA on a spent bullet casing holds the key to bringing two murderers to justice. Police have already discovered that their getaway car was equipped with a tracker that recorded the offenders' escape from the scene of the crime, but the DNA proves who was in the vehicle. Also, a hire car helps track down a thief who has stolen thousands from supermarket tills. The former member of staff used his inside knowledge to beat the supermarket's security systems.
A thief who prowls for victims on social media is locked up, thanks to the sheath of his knife. His online accounts contain evidence of the violent crime spree. Also, a plea for help scrawled on a ã10 note puts two kidnappers behind bars. Detectives race to track down the victim while the offenders subject him to a torturous ordeal.
A plot to extort thousands of pounds from a casino is foiled by a high-stakes sting operation. Investigators hatch a plan to lure the suspects back onto British soil in order to arrest them. Also, a discarded cigarette butt helps convict a man of indecent assault, nine years after the crime was committed.
An elderly murderer is convicted after a cat-and-mouse chase with armed police. He had killed a man in a feud over garden clippings. And a fraudster is locked up after using dummy phone handsets to con high-street shops out of tens of thousands of pounds.
A car key helps crack a criminal conspiracy to steal luxury car parts. Offenders use both sophisticated and low-tech methods to beat the car's security systems and avoid detection. Also, a torch provides the proof needed to convict a man of violently assaulting a pensioner in a graveyard. A crucial lead comes from a public appeal and the release of a harrowing photo of the victim's injuries.
A fingerprint left behind during a previous break-in at a food factory leads detectives to the brutal murderer of a security guard at the same location months later. With no murder weapon, no CCTV and no motive, police are in despair until incidents at the factory lead them to re-examine the old crime, and a former employee. Elsewhere, cutting-edge technology in the form of a DNA spray leaves a prolific motorbike thief with an indelible mark that he can't hide from the police.
A hotel guest book provides police with the names of members of an international drug smuggling network. Eagle-eyed officers match a hotel in Portugal to a selfie posted on social media by someone they suspect is a mule for the gang and are then able to make multiple arrests. Elsewhere, a gang of thieves who made off with £20,000 worth of perishables from a food factory are brought to justice after a car number plate left near an abandoned trailer allows them to be traced across the country.
A single fingerprint recovered from a fish and chips wrapper tossed on the ground is enough to place a gunman in a rural location miles from his home.
A jacket recovered from a suspect's home is found to have the DNA of two stabbing victims on it as police hunt for the person behind a series of seemingly unprovoked attacks. There's little for police to go on after a man is left to die in the street, and when the attacker strikes again, they are in a race against time to find the person responsible.
Fingerprints found at the scene of a burglary prove to be the missing piece of evidence detectives need to convict a man responsible for the murder of the flat's owner. After the man is found beaten to death in his own property, police use footprints found around his body to identify one assailant before putting together their case against his violent accomplice, whom they suspect of the killing.
Blood spatters found on a trench coat belonging to a suspect in an unrelated case of armed robbery links a callous killer to the murder of a wealthy pensioner. The police find just a business card and a cigarette butt at the crime scene, but then a detective spots the coat at the suspected robber's house and decides to run blood tests on a hunch. Also today, a detective's dogged approach pays off when he proves that a light aircraft that crashed, injuring three people, was too heavy for take-off.
A few spots of the victim's blood on a blue shirt convict a murderer when police deduce it was likely to be worn on the day of the killing. Detectives are left baffled by an apparently motiveless killing as they try to make sense of items left at the crime scene, but when they finally arrest a suspect, his vanity proves his undoing. Elsewhere, a rapper tells tales on himself when rap videos he posts online about his drug-dealing exploits mean the police come knocking at his door.
A blood-spattered hammer is the key to charging the police's prime suspect with a vicious murder. Police believe the man they have in custody is the killer, but with only circumstantial evidence, they need a breakthrough, Fortunately, they receive a mysterious call from the man providing their suspect's alibi. Also today, a drug-dealing gang is brought to its knees when one detective focuses on how the product is packaged to catch the men at the top.
A USB stick containing key information about the production and supply of illegal drugs is found in a raid of a respectable businesswoman's house. Authorities tell police that packages being posted labelled as so-called ‘legal highs' are a front for dealing narcotics online, so detectives set about finding the factory manufacturing them, before setting their sights higher. Elsewhere, after seeing an increase in guns designed to fire blanks converted into deadly weapons, police target the man responsible.
A single piece of A4 paper found on top of a hidden fax machine gives police the number of a shipping container used to smuggle millions of pounds' worth of drugs from Thailand. The men responsible for bringing it into the UK had been under covert surveillance for months, but until the fax was discovered, there was no way of proving the gang's involvement in the international drugs trade. Also today, a cheque for a mattress links a brutal killer to a body found at a Premier League football stadium.
A claw hammer recovered from a bin and contaminated with the DNA of both victim and killer is the final piece of the puzzle in a complex murder investigation. When the body of a woman is found, police speak to her lodger and become increasingly suspicious of his lies and strange behaviour, including the suggestion he has been tampering with her medication. Also today, the positive identification of a burglar who photographed himself at the crime scene leads police straight to his door.
A man is conclusively linked to a series of murders at music venues by a shoelace with traces of his final victim's DNA on it. After two people are set upon at a music festival by attackers with the same description, police are in a race against time to find their man, but then a third assault at a nightclub leaves them a vital clue. Also today, coded information buried within a spreadsheet reveals the man responsible for a campaign of hacking and blackmailing that targeted businesses.
An ice pick used to stab a man in the head on the street is recovered from the roof of a pub and brings a murderer to justice. Investigators are baffled after a man is brutally killed on the street and all they have to go on is some grainy CCTV until a woman tells them she thinks her husband carried out the slaying as revenge for a drug deal that went wrong. Elsewhere, an anonymous letter throws suspicion on a man who police believe may not only be storing guns, but manufacturing his own.
A car hidden deep within a scrapper's yard unlocks the riddle of a suspected gangland shooting at a secluded location. As police build their case against their prime suspect, they can't place him at the precise location of the shooting at the time of the murder. Also today, police secure the UK's first conviction for modern day slavery at a car wash after the owner's phone is shown to have tracked the victims' minibus as they were brought into the country.
A few tiny specks of grey paint help to solve not one but two brutal axe murders that have been baffling police. A determined detective has the paint tested and traced back to a supplier, which then leads him to the man who is behind both of the unsolved killings. Meanwhile, a bungling burglar is caught when his DNA is discovered on a rock used to smash a window at one of his break-ins. Police are then able to link him to several other similar crimes committed in the area.