Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau recovered another 500 BTC from wallets tied to convicted drug trafficker Clifton Collins, lifting total 2026 seizures in the case to 1,500 BTC.
The further 500 BTC seizure was confirmed by CAB with support from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre. CAB valued the latest recovery at about €27 million and said the total 1,500 BTC recovered in 2026 represents proceeds of crime.
A 500 BTC Coinbase Prime deposit from Collins-linked wallets was flagged onchain before the seizure update. The transfer was worth about $30.85 million at the time, with roughly 4,500 BTC still remaining across wallets connected to the case.
The latest recovery marks the third 500 BTC batch accessed this year. A March seizure covered the first 500 BTC, a second 500 BTC moved in May, and the newest 500 BTC transfer brings the confirmed 2026 recovery total to 1,500 BTC.
Collins Wallets Held 6,000 BTC
The Collins case dates back to Bitcoin bought in 2011 and 2012 using proceeds from a cannabis operation. Irish reporting has linked the original stash to about 6,000 BTC split across 12 wallets, with roughly 500 BTC in each wallet.
Gardaí said in March that CAB and Europol gained access to a cryptocurrency wallet containing 500 BTC, identified as proceeds of crime. Europol hosted operational meetings in The Hague and provided technical expertise and decryption resources for the operation.
The Irish Times reported that the first opened wallet was one of 12 virtual wallets seized in 2019 after an operation targeting Collins. The wallet codes had been stored in a fishing rod case at a rented property in County Galway, then lost after Collins was jailed and the property was cleared.
Collins was jailed for five years after running cannabis grow houses and selling the drug. In 2020, he surrendered other assets to the State, including bitcoin he still had access codes for, a gyro aircraft, a camper van and a fishing boat.
Coinbase Prime Transfer Follows Seizure Pattern
The newest 500 BTC went to Coinbase Prime, matching part of the earlier movement pattern from the Collins-linked wallet cluster. Arkham previously tracked a March 500 BTC Coinbase Custody movement and later another 500 BTC movement in May.
Coinbase Prime transfers do not automatically confirm an open-market sale. They can be used for custody, settlement, execution, liquidation preparation or state-managed disposal through regulated channels.
Large institutional Coinbase Prime movements have remained under market scrutiny for the same reason. BlackRock recently moved 7,432 BTC and 8,150 ETH to Coinbase Prime, while that transfer was treated as custody and ETF plumbing unless sale execution was confirmed.
The Collins recovery also follows other state-linked crypto asset movements. Ukraine recently transferred 8.3 million USDT in seized funds to its asset management agency after a cybercrime investigation.
As of July 3, CAB had recovered 1,500 BTC from the Collins-linked wallets in 2026, while about 4,500 BTC remained across wallets still connected to the case.
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