They operated in an "organized and almost professional" manner with "military-style" practices. A group stole three million euros in bitcoins in Castelo Branco.
The Portuguese Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested six men and one woman, aged between 37 and 52, on suspicion of aggravated robbery and kidnapping in the district of Castelo Branco, as part of the “Miracle” operation, which aimed to dismantle the group suspected of two robberies (one successful and one attempted) in the district of Castelo Branco, to foreign citizens living in Portugal who owned bitcoin wallets (cryptocurrencies).
In the first robbery and kidnapping, the group managed to secure the transfer of bitcoins worth three million euros at the time of the robbery. In the second case, the transfer of about 38,000 euros in bitcoins was unsuccessful, with the PJ believing that there was some type of computer problem, he clarified.
In what is the first robbery of bitcoins on record by the Central Directorate, Jorge LeitĂŁo stressed that there may be more cases that have not been reported, hoping that the publicity of the case could encourage other victims to report their situation.
When asked about the possibility of seizing the suspects' bitcoin wallets, the official said that "investigations are being carried out to recover assets," including cryptocurrencies.