Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) says it has accessed and seized a cryptocurrency wallet containing 500 Bitcoin (BTC) — worth more than $35 million — after cracking one of 12 wallets linked to a convicted drug dealer. CAB credited Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre for hosting operational meetings at its headquarters in The Hague and providing “highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources” crucial to the operation.
The wallet, labeled “Clifton Collins: Lost Keys” by blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, transferred 500 BTC to Coinbase Prime on Tuesday, more than a decade after the coins were deposited. Arkham lists Collins as controlling 14 addresses with total holdings of about 5,500 BTC, valued at over $391 million.
Collins was arrested in 2017 after police found cannabis in his car. Authorities say he used proceeds from his drug activities to buy 6,000 Bitcoin in late 2011 and early 2012, distributing the coins across 12 wallets. He reportedly printed the wallet keys on a single A4 sheet and hid it inside the aluminum cap of a fishing-rod case at his rented home. After his arrest and sentencing to five years for growing and selling cannabis, the landlord cleared the property and discarded Collins’s belongings; Collins has said the fishing-rod case was stolen before the landlord entered the premises.
Losing a Bitcoin private key normally renders funds permanently inaccessible because of public-key cryptography, making this recovery notable. Cointelegraph has contacted the CAB and An Garda Síochána for comment.