Over a million dollars worth of Bitcoin that moved through darknet marketplaces nearly a decade ago has been forfeited to a regional English police force.
Avon and Somerset Police said Thursday its financial investigation unit had recovered 20.21 BTC, further cryptoassets and money held in a bank account, worth $1.4 million (£1,032,487.86) combined. The person under investigation had a previous money laundering conviction and has since died.
Officers traced the holdings, with help from the force's cyber team, to darknet markets running from 2016 to 2019. The force said those sites, all since shut down, had facilitated crimes from drug supply to people trafficking. It did not name them.