Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau and Europol have successfully seized 1,000 Bitcoin worth $77.3 million as part of a major drug case involving Clifton Collins, an Irish drug dealer. According to reports from Baystreet.ca, the latest recovery involved securing several cryptocurrency wallets linked to Collins' extensive drug operation. The recovery operation received support from Europol's European Cybercrime Centre, which provided "highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources" to access the wallets. The Criminal Assets Bureau worked with Europol's European Cybercrime Centre, which provided decryption resources and technical expertise at operational meetings in The Hague, according to the CAB's official statement.
The case traces back to Clifton Collins, who purchased 6,000 Bitcoin in late 2011 and early 2012 using proceeds from illegal cannabis sales. As reported by The Guardian, Bitcoin traded near $5 U.S. when Collins acquired the coins 15 years ago. Collins printed the private keys on paper and hid them inside the aluminum cap of a fishing rod case at a rented home in County Galway. After his 2017 arrest, the property was cleared, and the fishing gear was believed to have been taken to a dump site. Collins reportedly split his holdings across 12 wallets and told investigators that the keys had been stolen in a break-in, though authorities now believe the property may have been cleared out after his arrest.
According to Baystreet.ca, authorities have seized two crypto wallets belonging to Collins that contain the 1,000 Bitcoin. It remains unclear if law enforcement has gained full access to the wallets without the original private keys, though the recovery represents a significant advance in the case. The transfer comes after another 500 BTC recovery reported earlier this year, with the earlier transfer representing the first significant movement from the once-dormant stash. The transfer to Wintermute suggests that a sell-off might be next, as Bitcoin is currently trading at $77,300 U.S., having hit over ₹126,000 back in October 2025. As reported by ArkhamARKM, another 500 BTC worth roughly $38 million left Collins' wallets on May 19, with the second transfer going to a wallet connected to Wintermute.
In March, Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau moved the first 500 BTC from Collins' wallets to Coinbase Prime, an institutional custody and trading service. The second transfer went to a wallet connected to Wintermute, one of the largest algorithmic market makers in crypto. As reported by ArkhamARKM, this routing through professional market infrastructure demonstrates the maturation of law enforcement's crypto operations. The CAB isn't storing seized coins in cold storage and praying for appreciation - they are liquidating them through professional market infrastructure. Wintermute sits between exchanges and traders, providing the liquidity that makes markets function, allowing institutions to sell large quantities of Bitcoin without crashing local order books.
Despite the significant recovery, approximately 5,000 BTC remain tied to the broader lost-keys cache, keeping the Irish case under continued market watch. Baystreet.ca reports that the Clifton Collins case represents a rare example of authorities gaining access to Bitcoin that was previously viewed as untraceable. The case now stands as a significant precedent for cryptocurrency asset recovery in drug investigations. Collins had already surrendered about €1.2 million in assets to the Irish state in 2020, including Bitcoin he could still access, plus a gyrocopter, camper van, and fishing boat. Ireland's justice minister Jim O'Callaghan announced plans in March to expand the CAB's powers to seize crypto assets, citing the Collins operation as a template for scaling successful recovery operations.
