GUN WIELDING thugs in balaclavas broke into the home of a cybercurrency trader and forced him to transfer a fortune in bitcoin in what is reported to be the first ever UK cryptocurrency robbery.
The masked robbers burst into the home in Moulsford, Oxfordshire, tied up the man’s wife, put the couple’s baby outside in a pram and forced the man to give them his bitcoin.
It is reported that schoolchildren were locked inside as a police helicopter looked for suspects and quizzed local residents.
A woman said: "I saw four young men in black tracksuits with the hoods pulled up, crossing the road to the property where it took place.’
She added: ‘They were aged 18 to 25, dark-skinned and super-fit. They jumped over the fence on the other side of the road. I didn’t see any gun, but that’s what people locally are saying – and that the men wore balaclavas which I didn’t see either, just the hoodies pulled up."The value of bitcoin is currently valued at £8,000 a coin.
Chief Executive of Explain The Market, Mark Shone, said: “These are criminals who have likely caught on to the current popularity of Bitcoin.
“But depending on how much they have, these coins are like being in possession of a rare painting. Trying to exchange large amounts for normal money without alerting suspicion will be very difficult.”
A police spokesman said: “Officers were called at about 9.40am to a report that offenders had entered a residential property off Reading Road and threatened the occupants.
“No one was seriously injured during the incident.“Officers are particularly interested in speaking to anyone travelling through the village on the A329 Reading Road between 7.30am and 10.30am on Monday who has dashcam footage, or anyone with mobile-phone footage.
“The investigation is in its early stages, however initial inquiries suggest this may be a targeted incident.
“No arrests have been made at this stage and anyone with any information relating to the incident is asked to call Thames Valley Police on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Bitcoin transactions provide anonymity to users and so has been used for criminal activity such as buying illicit items on the dark web.It also provides anonymity for scammers as the virtual currency does not pass through any banking institution and consumers cannot stop payment like they can with a credit card.
Cyberfraud, drug dealing, prostitution, gun-running and other major crime profits are being ploughed into the internet currencies.
Drug pedlars are using high street bitcoin ATM machines, of which there are 77 in the UK, to deposit cash from deals.
Gangsters are not only hiding money from the police, they are also making fortunes from the rise in the value of virtual currencies, according to the Met Police.