Irish Police Unlock ₱2.1 billion ($35 million) Bitcoin Wallet in 7-Year Drug Case
A 500 BTC wallet seized from cannabis cultivator Clifton Collins in 2017 has been cracked after seven years, with help from Europol. The recovered assets moved to Coinbase Prime on March 24, while 5,500 BTC worth ₱23.59 billion ($392.3 million) remains locked across 11 wallets.
Key Takeaway
First successful unlock in seven years leaves $392.3 million in Bitcoin still locked across 11 wallets.
Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau unlocked a Bitcoin wallet holding 500 BTC after a seven-year struggle, marking the first successful access to assets seized from a cannabis cultivator.
Clifton Collins, a 53-year-old former beekeeper from Dublin, accumulated 6,000 BTC between 2011 and 2012 before turning to full-time cannabis cultivation in 2005. Police arrested him in 2017 after discovering €2,000 worth of cannabis in his vehicle. He told investigators he had meticulously documented the private keys on paper hidden inside the aluminum cap of a fishing rod case, but authorities seized 12 wallets containing the full 6,000 BTC in 2019 without being able to access them.
The 500 BTC moved to an unknown address on March 24, then transferred to Coinbase Prime. Blockchain intelligence platform Arkham Intelligence tracked the movement and identified 13 other addresses linked to Collins' original wallets.
Europol's European Cybercrime Centre provided the breakthrough. The agency hosted operational meetings at its headquarters in The Hague and delivered critical support with highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources vital to the operation's success, according to CAB's statement.
Collins' 11 other wallets hold approximately 5,500 BTC across addresses that have been inactive since January 2016. Ireland's High Court ordered confiscation of the full 6,000 BTC in 2020 when the total was valued at ₱3.19 billion ($53 million) — meaning the remaining locked coins have appreciated to ₱23.59 billion ($392.3 million) at current prices. Authorities forfeited ₱83.57 million ($1.39 million) in assets Collins could still access, including $1.15 million in Bitcoin, before the March 24 breakthrough.
This article was written based on reporting from Bitcoinist.
