Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has successfully accessed one of 12 Bitcoin wallets seized from a convicted drug dealer in 2019, recovering approximately 500 BTC valued at around $34 million (€30 million). The breakthrough marks the first time authorities have been able to penetrate any of the wallets, which have grown dramatically in value since their seizure. The combined worth of all 12 wallets now stands at an estimated $418 million (€360 million).
The operation was carried out with support from Europol‘s European Cybercrime Centre, which contributed what a Garda statement described as highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources essential to the effort. The 500 BTC, priced at roughly $71,000 each at the time of reporting, have been confirmed by CAB as representing the proceeds of crime. The statement was shared with the Irish Times.
The wallets are linked to Clifton Collins, a 55-year-old former beekeeper who received a five-year prison sentence for cultivating cannabis in rented properties and distributing the drug to criminal networks. Collins began purchasing Bitcoin as early as 2011, when the cryptocurrency was trading between $0.30 and $29, closing that year at $4.72. He used profits from his drug operation to build his digital holdings over time.
To store his accumulating Bitcoin, Collins created 12 separate wallets and recorded the corresponding private keys in a document concealed inside a fishing rod case. The case was kept at a rented property in Co Galway. During interviews with investigators, Collins stated he never recovered the case after a break-in at his home, though reports suggest a clear-out of the property following his arrest may have led to its disappearance.
When authorities first seized the wallets in 2019, their total value was estimated at $61 million (€53 million). The significant increase in value since then reflects Bitcoin’s substantial price appreciation over the intervening years. The inability to access the wallets had previously prevented CAB from realising the full extent of the confiscated assets.
According to CAB’s 2023 annual report, approximately $1.3 million (€1.2 million) had already been recovered from Collins through the confiscation of other assets. Those items included 89 BTC as well as a fishing boat, a gyroplane, a metal detector, an electric bicycle, and several motor vehicles. The latest development represents a significant step forward in the bureau’s efforts to fully recover the remaining digital assets tied to his criminal activity.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
