Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) seized another 500 Bitcoin, worth around $30.9 million, working alongside Europol's European Cybercrime Centre. The Thursday announcement marks the third major seizure in 2026. Total Bitcoin confiscated by CAB this year now stands at 1,500 BTC, or $92.4 million at current prices.
All three seizures trace back to the same case: Clifton Collins, a convicted Irish drug dealer arrested in 2017, bought 6,000 Bitcoin in 2011 and 2012. Wallets connected to Collins still hold around 4,500 BTC, worth roughly $277 million at today's prices.
6,000 Bitcoin Bought in 2011 for Pocket Change
Collins was arrested in 2017 when police searched his car and found cannabis. Investigators established that he used drug proceeds to buy Bitcoin across 2011 and 2012, when the price ranged from $2 to $13 per coin. The total cost of that purchase was a few tens of thousands of dollars at most. The same 6,000 coins are worth $372 million today.
Collins split the holdings across 12 wallets and stored the access keys on a single A4 sheet of paper inside the aluminium cap of a fishing rod case at his rented home. After his arrest, his landlord reportedly threw out his belongings. Collins claimed the fishing rod was stolen before the landlord entered the property.
How CAB and Europol Access Wallets Without the Paper Keys
CAB carried out three seizures in 2026, each pulling 500 BTC. In Thursday's announcement, the agency said Europol provided operational coordination, technical expertise, and decryption support throughout the investigation. The specific technical method was not disclosed.
But the involvement of Europol and the explicit mention of decryption support tells a clear story: law enforcement can recover access to wallets even without the original paper key. This mirrors several past cases where Bitcoin appeared permanently lost and ended up in government hands regardless.
Active Wallets: 500 BTC Moved the Same Day as the Seizure
On Thursday, the same day CAB announced the confiscation, a wallet address linked to Collins moved 500 Bitcoin to an unknown address. CAB did not confirm whether this movement was part of the seizure. The timing and amount match exactly. The agency declined to comment further on the wallet owner's identity or the investigation details.
As of Friday, three of the original 12 wallets have passed to state control. The remaining nine wallets hold around 4,500 coins. Irish media previously reported that keys to some wallets may still exist on the original paper, if it survived somewhere.
CAB and Crypto Seizures: European Context
The Criminal Assets Bureau is one of the most active asset recovery agencies in the EU. It operates under Irish civil law and can initiate confiscation without waiting for criminal proceedings to conclude. That procedural flexibility lets CAB move faster than most EU counterparts.
Collins' case reflects a broader pattern across Europe: law enforcement agencies are pulling in Europol more often to recover access to criminal crypto wallets. In June 2025, Europol's Operation Endgame froze $47 million in crypto across a coordinated action. Taken together with Ireland's 2026 seizures, the picture is clear: even cold wallets with no known keys are not fully beyond law enforcement reach.
4,500 Bitcoin and the Open Question
CAB has not announced further plans regarding the remaining wallets. But three consecutive seizures in a single year suggest the case is not closed. If the agency gains access to even a few more of the nine wallets, total confiscations could exceed $100-150 million.
The combined current value of Collins' original 6,000 BTC exceeds $372 million. That makes this one of the largest ongoing crypto confiscation cases in the EU by scale. The central question stays unanswered: does that A4 sheet of paper still exist, and where is it now.
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