The Irish High Court ordered an alleged drug dealer to forfeit $56 million worth of Bitcoin to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). The decision came after the Court ruled that Clifton Collins purchased the digital asset with his drug profits.
A local news outlet reported earlier today that Clifton Collins from Dublin was involved in the sale and supply of drugs. Charged under the Proceeds of Crime legislation, Collins should forfeit all his proceeds of crime assets.
They include 52 million euros (around $56 million) worth of the largest cryptocurrency. With Bitcoin’s price at about $10,150 now, this equals to over 5,500 bitcoins.
The report indicates that the alleged drug dealer was an early Bitcoin investor. By using the funds from his illegal drug deals, he accumulated his sizeable cryptocurrency portfolio.
At the time of this writing, Collins hasn’t refuted the claims nor has opposed CAB’s application.
The case began three years ago when police officers pulled over Collins and found a large quantity of cannabis in the vehicle. As a result, local authorities received a court order to search for an address linked to the alleged drug dealer. They found a significant number of suspected cannabis plants.
Last year, the U.K. police arrested a drug dealer importing crystal meth from Canada to distribute in the streets of West Yorkshire. He and his team of three took advantage of the dark web. For the payment method, the drug dealer gang used the largest cryptocurrency – Bitcoin. Ultimately, they were sentenced to over 30 years of jail time.
Another reported case in 2019 came from Arizona, USA. Four people pleaded guilty for advertising and distributing heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine on the dark web. Similarly, they used a variety of cryptocurrencies to settle their deals. Depending on their backgrounds, they received between 5 and 20 years in prison.
The largely anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies has some people misuse them for illegal activities. As Cryptopotato recently reported, however, only 0.5% of all Bitcoin transactions have illicit roots. Cash remains one of the most preferable means of payments in such cases.