Irish authorities seize $56M worth of bitcoins from a drug dealer

Hacks • February 19, 2020, 6:35AM EST
Oleg Samoylov/ shutterstock.com

The Criminal Assets Bureau, a law enforcement agency in Ireland, has seized €52 million (~$56 million) worth of bitcoins from a drug dealer.

The agency received a freezing order from Ireland’s high court because the court accepted that the dealer, Clifton Collins, was involved in the sale and supply of drugs, local news outlet Irish Independent reported Wednesday.

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The 49-year old Collins is believed to have invested in bitcoin at an early stage. Notably, the agency received the order "to ensure it could not be removed from its wallet without the court's approval," per the report. 

The confiscation of the bitcoin reportedly formed a major chunk of the agency’s total seizure of €62 million ($67 million) worth of assets in 2019.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.

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