Thieves stole roughly $700,000 worth of Bitcoin along with other belongings in a robbery in a Costa Rican beach town last week, according to local news reports.
At least eight armed robbers violently robbed a group of Israeli nationals at a social event in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, taking a “substantial” amount of Bitcoin from them, local news agency Teletica reported Friday. The assailants, who were heavily armed and wearing police uniforms, appeared to have had law enforcement training, according to the report.
The robbers arrived at Santa Teresa de Cóbano in expensive vehicles when the alleged attack occurred on August 4, overpowering the security guard and forcing the group of 11 Israeli nationals to forfeit their valuables.
It is unclear how the Bitcoin was physically taken from the victims. It is also not immediately clear if the targets are tourists or residents of Costa Rica.
Four Arrested in Bitcoin Kidnap-Murder Case: Ukraine Police
Four men have been arrested in the Ukraine capital, Kyiv, on suspicion of kidnapping, robbing, and murdering a 29-year-old after forcing him to transfer Bitcoin worth approximately $170,000. Ukraine is still very much embroiled in a war with Russia, which has left its citizens stuck in turbulent times. According to Online.ua, an independent Ukrainian publication, the average salary in Kyiv is in the region of 21,800 UAH ($530). Which means the $170,000 worth of stolen Bitcoin amounts to more tha...
Costa Rican authorities did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
The perpetrators of the crime have not yet been identified. Local authorities said the attack’s orchestrators most likely personally knew the victims, as the robbers appeared to know the visitors had Bitcoin on them, Teletica reported.
The Judicial Investigation Agency is actively investigating the case, according to local reports.
This latest theft is one of several violent crypto-related crimes in recent months.
Florida Man Convicted for Violent Home Invasions to Steal Victims' Bitcoin
A federal jury in North Carolina has found Florida man Remy St Felix guilty of orchestrating a series of violent home invasions aimed at stealing Bitcoin and other crypto assets from targeted victims. The 24-year-old St Felix of West Palm Beach, Florida led a group that targeted cryptocurrency owners across multiple states between September 2022 and July 2023. The robberies, which took place in Durham, North Carolina as well as locations in Florida, Texas, and New York, involved breaking into h...
Last month, thieves in Kyiv, Ukraine forced a man to transfer roughly $200,000 in Bitcoin to them before strangling him to death. Earlier this summer, a man was convicted of targeting victims’ crypto in a string of home invasions across several states in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023.
The uptick in news reports on violent digital currency-related attacks comes amid a broader increase in crypto crime, particularly exploits. Nearly $1.4 billion in digital assets was stolen in the first half of 2024, up more than 200% from the same time last year, data from blockchain intelligence firm TRM shows.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
