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Hassan Shittu
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A crypto buyer in Trinidad was robbed of roughly $85,800 in cash during an evening ambush at a pharmacy car park, marking the latest in a fast-rising wave of global “wrench attacks” targeting digital-asset holders.
According to a report by Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, the victim, a 52-year-old Arouca resident, drove to a SuperPharm parking lot along Trincity Central Road on November 29 to meet a man he had been trading cryptocurrency with for nearly two years.
$85K Trinidad Heist Joins Over 60 Cases Of Physical Crypto Crimes, Researcher Says
The man, a 33-year-old from Belmont, entered the vehicle as he had done in previous transactions. The buyer then handed him a black bag containing $85,800 in cash intended for a crypto purchase.
Moments later, two armed men wearing hoodies approached both sides of the vehicle and announced a robbery. They smashed their way in, grabbed the cash and the victims’ mobile phones, and escaped in a waiting car.
The victim later reported the incident to the Arouca Police Station. Investigators have not disclosed whether the longtime trading partner was involved or was also targeted.
The robbery occurred on the same weekend police responded to two unrelated vehicle thefts at nearby shopping centers, adding to concerns about rising property crime in the area.
A St. Joseph woman reported her Nissan B14 stolen from the One Woodbrook Place basement car park, while another woman discovered her Suzuki Vitara missing from the Trincity Mall parking lot. Police say investigations into all incidents are ongoing.
Although cash was stolen, security analysts categorize it within a growing class of physical attacks linked to digital-asset activity.
These incidents, informally referred to as “wrench attacks”, involve criminals using violence, coercion, or kidnapping to force victims to hand over wallet credentials, sign transactions, or surrender funds.
Jameson Lopp, co-founder of security firm Casa and one of the few researchers tracking physical crypto crimes, has documented more than 60 such attacks this year, already surpassing last year’s total by more than 30%.
Lopp describes a 169% rise in cases since February, with France currently leading global reports at 14 confirmed incidents.
Physical Crypto Crimes Escalate Worldwide, From Home Invasions to Kidnappings
Notably, the violence attached to these crimes has escalated. Last week, a British Columbia court detailed a 2024 home invasion where a family was tied, tortured, and waterboarded as attackers demanded access to cryptocurrency.
The gang sought 200 BTC before taking $1.6 million in digital assets. One suspect, Tsz Wing Boaz Chan, later pleaded guilty and received a seven-year sentence.
In the United States, authorities are also investigating a violent robbery in San Francisco on November 24, Police have released few details and no arrests have been made.
Similar incidents have been recorded across major cities. An Italian tourist kidnapped in New York was held for more than two weeks while captors attempted to extract his Bitcoin credentials, leading to a case that has since drawn internal scrutiny within the NYPD.
In Chicago, six men were charged earlier this year with kidnapping residents and coercing them to transfer $15 million in crypto, with similar attacks reported worldwide.
France has seen some of the most organized efforts. Prosecutors say criminal groups have used fake delivery uniforms, pre-attack intelligence gathering, and stolen service vans to identify potential targets.
In one high-profile case earlier this year, Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife were kidnapped for 48 hours; Balland later told investigators his finger was severed during the ordeal.
Analysts say the surge in physical crime coincides with continued strength in crypto markets, which has raised the value of private holdings and drawn criminals toward coercion rather than online hacking.
