A bitcoin trader was forced to make a cryptocurrency transfer by armed men who stormed his home in the first heist of its kind in the UK.
Police said they were seeking witnesses to the robbery in Moulsford, a picturesque village in Oxfordshire where episodes of the ITV series Midsomer Murders have been filmed.
The victim was a 30-year-old former City broker turned bitcoin trader who ran a digital currency company.
The men, said to be wearing balaclavas, held the man at gunpoint as they tied up his girlfriend, 31, while they put the couple’s child outside in a pushchair, according to the Mail on Sunday.
The man was then reportedly forced to transfer over the digital currency on a computer in what is believed to be the first robbery of its kind in the UK.
Police were called to the family home off Reading Road, near the independent school Cranford House, at about 9.40am on January 22.
A mother of one of the children at the school told The Mail on Sunday: "I saw four young men in black tracksuits with the hoods pulled up, crossing the road to the property where it took place.
"They were aged 18 to 25, dark-skinned and super-fit. They jumped over the fence on the other side of the road. I didn't see any gun, but that's what people locally are saying - and that the men wore balaclavas which I didn't see either, just the hoodies pulled up."
Thames Valley Police said nobody was seriously injured in what they believed was likely a "targeted" incident.
"Officers are particularly interested in speaking to anyone travelling through the village on the A329 Reading Road between 7.30am and 10.30am on Monday who has dashcam footage, or anyone with mobile-phone footage,” said a spokesman.
"People in the local community may notice an increased presence of officers in the area while our enquiries are ongoing. The investigation is in its early stages, however initial enquiries suggest this may be a targeted incident.
"No arrests have been made at this stage."
Anyone with any information is asked to call Thames Valley Police on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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