Lone Wolf Arrested by Police After Sending Bomb Risk Letters to Monetary Executives

The Brazilian Civil Police managed to unravel a case that concerned sending dozens of letters to monetary executives and residents of luxurious condos in São Paulo, threatening to launch assaults with explosives towards them.

The letters, which directed loss of life threats in direction of their recipients and described a terrorist assault plan with drones loaded with dynamite and C4, included actual explosive materials. To keep away from changing into victims of the assault, the letters requested residents to ship 1.7 million reais (practically $300K) value of bitcoin to a QR code deal with included within the letters.

After a prolonged investigation, authorities tried to trace the self-custody Bitcoin pockets included within the letters and the emails created with a Switzerland-based encryption service. However the most effective lead got here from monitoring the person’s bodily path on the Put up Workplace. The police recognized the person as Ítalo Francisco Mendes Barbiot after he was caught on digicam paying a subway fare utilizing a digital app on his smartphone.

Mendes Barbiot’s arrest additionally helped the police clear up one other related case, which concerned related letters being despatched to executives of an unidentified crypto change, threatening to poison them and asking for a ransom in bitcoin. At the moment, the letters contained ricin, a deadly toxin produced within the seeds of the castor plant that may kill an individual in very small doses.

Investigators linked these instances after a graffiti artist decided the writing on the letter envelopes was related. Mendes Barbiot instructed police he was answerable for each incidents. He careworn that he had despatched the letters out of monetary desperation, as he was unemployed and had social engineering expertise.

“From every little thing we’ve recognized, it was a lone wolf. He was doing every little thing he may to acquire some monetary worth from that bitcoin pockets he gave these victims,” mentioned Nelson Fernandes, divisional delegate of the Anti-Kidnapping Division.

Police proceed investigating whether or not some victims paid the bitcoin ransom out of concern, or whether or not there’s a doable connection to different perpetrators who might need carried out wrench assaults on a few of the letter recipients.

Nonetheless, stories didn’t point out whether or not any crypto funds had been confiscated within the motion.

Criminals stole greater than $30 million from cryptocurrency holders by means of violence within the first half of 2026, blockchain analytics agency…