Authorities in Ireland tracking illicit assets have seized another 500 Bitcoin linked to Clifton Collins, a convicted criminal, bringing the total amount recovered this year to 1,500 BTC. Following the latest transfer on July 2, 2026, the seized Bitcoin is now worth approximately $92 million at current market prices.
Third successful wallet access with Europol’s support
During the most recent operation, Bitcoin was trading at around $61,749, valuing the newly recovered 500 BTC at roughly $30.9 million. Irish officials have not disclosed details about how they accessed the encrypted wallets in this major recovery effort.
The investigation received technical support from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, which coordinated strategy meetings at its headquarters in the Netherlands and provided assistance in decrypting wallet access. Europol is recognized for its critical role in helping law enforcement agencies across the European Union tackle cross-border crime.
Technical support from Europol played a crucial part in enabling Irish authorities to access the encrypted wallets.
This milestone marks the third successful Bitcoin recovery from the network of 12 wallets that initially contained around 6,000 BTC. Authorities previously seized 500 BTC in March and another 500 BTC in May. Now, the total amount accessed has reached 1,500 BTC this year alone.
| Date | Recovered Amount | Cumulative Total |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | 500 BTC | 500 BTC |
| May 2026 | 500 BTC | 1,000 BTC |
| July 2, 2026 | 500 BTC | 1,500 BTC |
Forgotten keys back in the spotlight after years
Tracing the wallets takes investigators back to Clifton Collins, a Dublin native convicted in 2017 for large-scale cannabis cultivation across three regions. Reports indicate Collins accumulated roughly 6,000 BTC between late 2011 and early 2012 when Bitcoin was trading for just a few dollars.
Collins distributed his haul among 12 separate wallets and wrote down the private keys on paper, which he then hid inside the aluminum lid of a fishing tackle box in a rented Galway home. After his arrest, the landlord cleared the property and sent the belongings to a landfill, leading to the disappearance of the vital keys.
Collins informed investigators that he had permanently lost access to the majority of his Bitcoin stash.
Ireland’s High Court declared the assets to be criminal proceeds around 2019. However, at that time, authorities lacked the technical means to move the coins. Blockchain records also show no activity in the wallets between Collins’ arrest in 2017 and the first successful recovery in March 2026.
4,500 BTC remains locked away
Nine out of the 12 wallets remain inaccessible, containing an estimated 4,500 BTC—currently valued at over $275 million. Irish officials maintain their legal authority over these assets under existing seizure orders, but the funds still cannot be moved without the original keys.
Blockchain analytics company Arkham Intelligence is monitoring the cluster of wallets and logs each new transaction. The recovered Bitcoin has been placed into institutional custody in anticipation of future liquidation.
Prior to this investigation, Irish authorities had managed to liquidate just €6.5 million in crypto assets across the previous decade. The funds already retrieved in the Collins case have now far surpassed all previous totals combined.
