Stolen Crypto Traced: Ugandan Police Arrest Suspect in Blockchain Educator’s Abduction

Ugandan law enforcement has arrested Phineous Biira, a suspect in the abduction of crypto educator Festo Ivaibi on May 17.

Suspect Has Criminal Record

Ugandan law enforcement has arrested one of the suspects involved in the abduction crypto trader and educator Festo Ivaibi on May 17. The arrest occurred after forensic experts traced the stolen funds to Phineous Biira’s verified wallet with a major centralized cryptocurrency exchange.

According to a statement from Ivaibi’s Mitroplus Labs, the suspect initially resisted arrest and demanded to speak with Maj. Charles Konyang Lepera of the Ugandan Defense Forces. Lepera reportedly showed up at a local police station where the suspect was detained. During interrogation, Biira, who has a criminal record of a “similar nature,” refused to explain why she had received the funds.

As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the armed criminal gang that pounced on Ivaibi wore military fatigues. The report added that of the 48 reported cases of muggings involving crypto holders, victims in seven of those cases identified the same gang as the perpetrators. The criminal network’s influence is partly blamed for Ugandan law enforcement’s inaction, even after some gang members were positively identified.

Besides its rumored links with rogue elements in the UDF, the criminal gang is said to be working with two unnamed Chinese businessmen who are helping liquidate the stolen digital funds. Despite the criminal network’s attempt to quickly liquidate the funds, collaboration between forensic experts and the crypto exchange helped Ugandan law enforcement quickly identify and apprehend the suspect.

“We commend the Uganda Police for the professional, impartial, and firm manner in which they have continued to handle this case,” Mitroplus Labs, a cryptocurrency and blockchain education institution, said in a statement.

Nevertheless, Mitroplus Labs’ statement expressed alarm at growing evidence supporting the assertion that UDF members are involved in the abductions. The educational institution also disclosed that most of the $500,000 in digital assets reported stolen was taken from Ivaibi’s crypto wallets. The gang also stole and liquidated $18,000 in digital funds from Afrotoken, a Mitroplus Labs-issued memecoin on Tronlink, briefly causing the token’s price to drop.

Meanwhile, Ivaibi, who prides himself as a tax-paying crypto entrepreneur, expressed hope that government agencies would come to his aid. In a post on X, Ivaibi characterized paying taxes as a patriotic act.

“Paying taxes is a patriotic duty. I approached Uganda Revenue Authority to pay taxes on crypto earnings, faced penalties for late filings, and my compliance aids my abduction case. Many authorities are going all out to help me,” Ivaibi wrote.

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