Irish police open Bitcoin wallet years after keys were apparently lost

A crypto wallet tied to a convicted drug dealer thought to have lost his wallet keys transferred 500 Bitcoin to Coinbase on Tuesday.

Irish national police say they have cracked one of 12 Bitcoin wallets linked to a convicted drug dealer, years after they were confiscated and their access codes were thought to be gone forever.

Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) said in a statement on Tuesday that it had “gained access to and seized a cryptocurrency wallet” containing 500 Bitcoin (BTC), worth more than $35 million, with the help of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre.

“Europol hosted operational meetings at its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands and provided critical support to Bureau investigators and analysts with the provision of highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources vital to the success of the operation,” the CAB said.

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