It is one thing to be caught for a crime by documenting it on your phone, or posting about it on social media, but it’s another thing for police to then turn those boastful posts into a meme mocking your downfall.

This is the harsh comedown for one English man when, after being jailed for a strong of offenses, Lancashire Police shared his mugshot next to a selfie he had taken spruiking stolen banknotes.

Samuel Walmsley was one of more than 14 men jailed for nearly 50 years for a “burglary and vehicle theft conspiracy” – including charges relating to drug importation, and burglary and vehicle theft rings – in the country’s northwest.

And as if being jailed was not enough to teach the 20-year-old a lesson, police made the offender into a “how it started vs. how its going” meme to announce his sentencing.

How it How it’sstarted 🤑 going 🤔 pic.twitter.com/v6MjCT91Gz

The meme showed a screenshot of Walmsley fanning a wad of banknotes, compared to his markedly different mugshot.

The meme kicks off a thread detailing how the Great Harwood man and three others – Kevin Docherty, Noah Mulligan, and Jordan Whittam – were caught after police recovered photos and videos from Walmsley’s phone, which included them showing off their crimes.

In follow-up tweets, police wrote “it wasn’t too difficult” to catch the offenders, who filmed a number of their crimes, including a video sitting in a vehicle shuffling through cash and bank cards stolen during a burglary, even posting some to social media.

“As well as showing off a stolen van on Snapchat, capturing items taken during burglaries and describing it as “a good night’s work,” police wrote on Twitter.

Police said the group also “trolled” a post on a community Facebook page featuring the defendants breaking into a car. Walmsley filmed the community member’s post, and could be heard laughing and saying “that’s me in the boot.”

“But something tells us they aren’t laughing now,” police posted.

“These defendants thought it appropriate to capture their criminal activities on film and brazenly mock hardworking members of society.

It wasn’t too difficult, mind.🙄 They filmed cash and bank cards stolen during a burglary in Clitheroe. pic.twitter.com/DZxAuqP6nW

“These defendants thought it appropriate to capture their criminal activities on film and brazenly mock hardworking members of society.

“We’re here to send a message to anyone intent on this type of criminality – this will not be tolerated in Lancashire.”

The thread drew millions of views and thousands of responses, many hailing the “savage” post as the “tweet of the year.”

“All I see is good police work. Good job,” one wrote.

“DAMN … police clowning people now,” another wrote, with a crying emoji.

Some even requested more meme content like.

Someone else wrote in all-caps “this is what we like to see Lancashire Police”, while the Kingston Police account said the post was “perfection.”

Some even posted their own versions of the meme, praising the police’s social media savvy.