Irish Authorities Crack Drug Dealer’s Bitcoin Wallet After Nearly a Decade

Key Takeaways

• Irish authorities and Europol successfully accessed a Bitcoin wallet inactive for almost ten years
• Approximately 500 BTC valued at roughly $35 million was transferred to Coinbase on March 24, 2026
• The cryptocurrency belonged to Clifton Collins, a convicted cannabis cultivator who concealed his private keys in a fishing rod container
• Authorities believed the keys were permanently lost when Collins’ possessions were disposed of in a landfill after his 2017 detention
• Law enforcement officials are confident the technique used can unlock the other 11 wallets containing over €330 million

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) of Ireland, working alongside Europol, has gained access to a Bitcoin wallet that remained untouched for close to ten years. The wallet contained 500 BTC, currently valued at approximately $35 million, which was moved on-chain and deposited into Coinbase on March 24.

The cryptocurrency belonged to Clifton Collins, a Dublin resident who was found guilty of operating large-scale cannabis growing operations spanning several Irish counties over more than a decade. Before his criminal enterprise, Collins worked in security and beekeeping.

Between 2011 and 2012, Collins purchased 6,000 Bitcoin when the digital currency was trading for just a few dollars. He financed these acquisitions using profits from his cannabis business.

Collins divided his 6,000 BTC holdings evenly among 12 separate wallets, placing 500 BTC in each one. He printed all the private keys onto a single piece of paper and concealed this document inside a fishing rod case at his rented residence in Galway.

In 2017, law enforcement arrested Collins following the discovery of cannabis during a routine vehicle inspection. Subsequently, his landlord cleared out the property and discarded Collins’ belongings at a landfill site.

The fishing rod case containing the sole copy of the private keys was almost certainly destroyed in the process. Collins later indicated that a burglary at the property might have also played a role.

In 2020, an Irish High Court mandated the seizure of the Bitcoin. At the time, the 6,000 BTC was valued at approximately €53 million. Today, that same amount is worth roughly €360 million.

Despite the court’s ruling, CAB had no method to access the cryptocurrency without the private keys. Both law enforcement and Collins assumed the Bitcoin was irretrievably lost.

The Method Behind the Breakthrough

CAB and Europol have not revealed the specific method used to access the wallet. Europol stated only that it supplied “highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources.”

One hypothesis suggests Collins may have stored his keys in an encrypted file secured by a weak password, which investigators could have cracked using brute force techniques.

An alternative explanation is that Collins employed a defective tool to create all 12 key pairs. A compromised random number generator could have produced predictable keys, enabling investigators to recreate them.

Authorities reportedly have high confidence that the identical approach can be used on the other 11 wallets.

Outstanding Holdings

Collins still possesses 5,500 Bitcoin, currently worth approximately $389 million based on Arkham intelligence.

Should CAB successfully unlock all remaining wallets with the same methodology, recovering the complete 6,000 BTC would represent the largest single asset confiscation in the bureau’s operational history.

The 500 BTC transferred on March 24 represents the first verified access to any of Collins’ wallets since his apprehension nine years ago.