He shouldn’t have been in the Patriots’ locker room, yet there he was. He milled about, no jersey in his possession, and stared straight into a camera. Six weeks later, that moment of eye contact was instrumental in NFL officials, police and the FBI finding their man.

The Case of the Missing Jersey was solved Monday, when the No. 12 Tom Brady wore in the Patriots’ thrilling Super Bowl LI victory was discovered in Mexico. The footage that led authorities to Mauricio Ortega, a former employee of Mexican tabloid Diario La Prensa, has been released piecemeal. In the latest round, we can see his now-unblurred face, particularly at about 1:40 of the above video, which aired Tuesday on Fox Sports 1’s “The Herd.”

The behind-the-scenes video documents minute by minute how the alleged thief weaseled his way into the locker room ahead of the media, just a few steps behind Bill Belichick.

As smiling, sweaty Patriots walk to and fro, Ortega is pictured — wearing credentials that shouldn’t allow him in the locker room at that stage, according to Fox insider Jay Glazer — seemingly waiting for something. At this point, he just has a bag on his arm, and Brady is not yet in the locker room. He stares into the camera, clearly identifying himself for authorities, and tries his best to look like he belongs.

Seven minutes later, when the rest of the media is entering the locker room, he’s exiting it — with another bag under his arm. Authorities believe the jersey was in the bag, and they would find a second jersey — the one Brady wore for Super Bowl XLIX — with it. Thanks to the momentary gaze into the lens, the visual led authorities to Mexico.

“I am happy my jerseys from SB 49 and SB 51 have been recovered, and I want to thank all of the law enforcement agencies involved,” Brady said in a statement released by agent Don Yee. “I know they worked hard on this case — and it is very much appreciated. Hopefully when I get the jerseys back I can make something very positive come from this experience.”