It is not uncommon to hear about governments confiscating Bitcoin from criminals, but a recent theft case in Australia has exposed a police officer involved in stealing 81.616 Bitcoin (approximately $4.3 million) from a drug trafficking group’s seized cryptocurrency.
According to Cryptopotato’s report, the suspected thief is a police officer named William Wheatley. He is accused of stealing the confiscated Bitcoin during an investigation into drug and steroid trafficking in January 2019. He has been indicted in early December 2022 and is currently undergoing a pre-trial hearing.
Details of the theft case reveal that law enforcement officers discovered a large quantity of substances similar to steroids and an email allegedly used for drug transactions (using Bitcoin) during a raid in 2019. They also found a Trezor hardware wallet. Approximately three weeks later, the task force responsible for the operation obtained a judge’s approval to access the wallet. However, on February 14, the cybercrime unit officers discovered that 81.616 Bitcoin had been transferred to other wallets on January 29, four days after the device was seized, and became untraceable.
Initially, investigators suspected that an accomplice of the drug dealer had planned the fund transfer. However, after continued investigation and the introduction of new tracking tools in 2021, they discovered the possible involvement of a police officer, leading to the reopening of the case.
Further investigation revealed a suspicious connection between the flow of stolen funds and an officer’s account through a related IP address linked to the Australian Federal Police headquarters in Melbourne at the time. The Australian Law Enforcement Integrity Commission then hired a cryptocurrency investigator named Craig to trace the funds. He confirmed that between January 29, 2019, and April 11, 2019, the wallet had conducted 28 transactions on various cryptocurrency platforms, some of which were later found to have been deposited into Officer Wheatley’s bank account.
During the trial, another police officer testified that he was the only federal police officer present during the search operation on January 25. He admitted that he was unaware of the nature of the hardware wallet when he found it and contacted Wheatley for assistance, referring to him as an expert in the cybercrime department.
In conclusion, this case highlights the involvement of a police officer in the theft of seized Bitcoin from a drug trafficking group. The investigation revealed suspicious transactions and connections that led to the indictment and ongoing legal proceedings against Officer Wheatley.