Egyptian Dentist Apprehended in Bitcoin Sting Operation in Cairo

A 30-year-old dentist has been apprehended by Egyptian authorities for conducting bitcoin-to-dollar transactions on LocalBitcoins.com, a popular digital currency trading portal.

Mr. Ahmed. A. H., who was trading digital currencies on the site under the nickname btc2okpay, was captured in a sting operation setup by investigators in New Cairo, a municipality on the outskirts of the Cairo.

According to today’s post on the facebook page of The Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Ahmed was captured with $13,900 in cash, as well as a cellular phone and a smart tablet that were used in the trading operation. Authorities setup Ahmed by contacting him about a potential deal on LocalBitcoins, where Ahmed was selling the digital currency for $570 per coin.

The investigation was carried out with the cooperation of the Cairo Department of Public Safety and the Cairo Security Directorate. Mr. Ahmed has apparently confessed to trading bitcoin, but it is unclear what specific law Mr. Ahmed was breaking, as there are no regulations on digital currencies in Egypt.

In fact, AMECO – a Cairo-based manufacturer of disposable syringe and hypodermic needles – started accepting bitcoin in 2014. At press time, there are only about seven Egyptian bitcoin sellers on LocalBitcoins, with most sellers limiting their transactions to a maximum of 10,000 EGP ($1126 USD).

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