A case involving the loss of “trash” worth £569 million in the UK is set to go to court soon.
It turns out that a British programmer inadvertently placed a hard drive containing nearly 8,000 bitcoins into a drawer in 2013, which was then mistakenly thrown out as trash by his girlfriend at the time.
To find this lost hard drive, the man hired professional organizations to search for it and successfully pinpointed the location of the landfill. However, the local government repeatedly rejected his application to dig through the garbage for various reasons. 
For 11 years, both sides have been engaged in a tug-of-war, with the landfill needing 24-hour surveillance to prevent anyone from secretly digging. The man and his girlfriend have also been blaming each other and arguing incessantly.
This real-life story, filled with mystery, comedy, and melodrama, really shouldn’t be considered for a movie?
The story begins 11 years ago.
James Howells, a programmer living in Newport, UK, was living a simple but happy life with his girlfriend Eddie and their two sons.
In 2009, out of curiosity, James followed the trend and bought 7,500 bitcoins, storing the electronic keys on his laptop.
At the time, bitcoin had not significantly appreciated, and James, as an ordinary worker, did not realize their potential for growth, nor did he pay attention to bitcoin-related news. He continued to work diligently and care for his family.
Around August 2012, while drinking lemon juice at home, James accidentally spilled it on his laptop. He immediately dismantled the computer and replaced it with a new hard drive, casually tossing the old one into a drawer.
In early 2013, his girlfriend Eddie, while cleaning the house, threw away this old hard drive along with other trash.
James didn’t react much when he found out the hard drive was thrown away. It wasn’t until November 2013, when he read a news article about bitcoin, that he remembered.
The article reported a Norwegian man who had successfully bought an apartment worth $400,000 with 1,000 bitcoins.
James then realized that the password for his 7,500 bitcoins was still on that old hard drive. If he could convert those bitcoins, wouldn’t he become a millionaire?
But he soon realized that the garbage bag containing the old hard drive had long been sent to the landfill.
Undeterred, after extensive investigation, James confirmed that the garbage bag was buried in a nearby landfill. Additionally, through calculations, he determined that the old hard drive was buried 5 centimeters underground.
With this result, James immediately applied to the local council for permission to dig up the garbage.
However, the city council repeatedly rejected his application, citing reasons such as the excavation would cause serious environmental pollution, and the significant economic and manpower costs involved.
Since then, both sides have been stuck in a cycle of applications and rejections, with James embarking on an 11-year-long “treasure hunt.”
Since 2013, James quit his job to search for the hard drive full-time. To raise funds for his “treasure hunt,” he launched a crowdfunding project online, inviting investors to contribute to his dream fund.
James also promised that if he found the 7,500 bitcoins, he would return a portion of the profits to his supporters.
His crowdfunding project attracted the attention of tens of thousands of netizens, quickly raising £7.4 million for the treasure hunt.
He used this money to hire professional search teams, narrowing down the location of the buried hard drive to within a 200-meter radius.
With an accurate burial location, James submitted another application to the city council, offering to fund the excavation himself. However, the council quickly rejected his application again, stating that even if the hard drive was found, there was no guarantee the data could be recovered.
A spokesperson for the Newport City Council retorted:
“This landfill site already contains millions of tons of garbage, with an additional 50,000 tons added each year.
Corrosive wastewater flows out daily, and the hard drive might already be damaged beyond recovery. Spending millions with no guarantee of retrieving useful data, not to mention the severe pollution to the surrounding environment, the government can’t justify it to the local residents.”
Undeterred, James then brought in data experts with business ties to NASA.
They promised they could recover various data records. James’s small request to recover the hard drive data was naturally within their capabilities.
Encouraged by the team’s confident assurances, James made a bold promise: if the team provided the council with a guarantee that the hard drive could be fully recovered, he would give 30% of the total value of the bitcoins as a reward once they were exchanged.
Unsurprisingly, the council, upon seeing the data expert’s guarantee, rejected James’s Nth application to dig, citing that a guarantee is not the same as factual evidence.
During the years of back-and-forth between the two sides, the value of bitcoin continued to skyrocket. By 2022, James’s “virtual” net worth had reached £440 million, far exceeding the personal wealth of Queen Elizabeth II, which was £370 million before her death.
Seeing a fortune so close yet out of reach would make anyone anxious. James and his girlfriend blamed each other daily, leading to endless arguments. Eventually, they parted ways amicably, with their two sons remaining with Eddie.
Years have passed, and James, who has put all his effort into finding the hard drive, has started a new round of “treasure hunt” this year.
This time, to force the local government to approve his garbage digging, he has even thought of suing the city council.
In recent years, as bitcoin’s value has continued to rise, James’s net worth has reached £569 million.
James once proposed to the city council that if he successfully retrieved the hard drive and exchanged the bitcoins, he would donate 10% of the total value to the local government, turning Newport into the next Dubai or Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, over the years, he has been funding the landfill. The landfill manager has installed numerous surveillance cameras and hired a large number of security guards to patrol the garbage heap 24/7, ensuring no one would sneak in to dig for the hard drive.
This time, he promised the landfill manager that once he exchanged the bitcoins, he would fund the installation of a new energy farm on the landfill’s roof.
James’s continuous escalation finally brought the manager to his side.
To quickly start digging, in October of this year, James filed a lawsuit with the local court, presenting a new accusation.
In the previous 11 years of litigation, James had accused the city council of withholding his hard drive and seizing his assets. This time, on the advice of his top lawyers, he changed his accusation to the council withholding his hard drive and infringing on his intellectual property rights.
James also mentioned that countless local residents support his lawsuit. Citizens hope to quickly dig up the hard drive, exchange the bitcoins, and make the city rich overnight, hoping everyone could benefit from improved wages and working conditions. This includes council members, the landfill manager, and his ex-girlfriend.
James’s ex-girlfriend also secretly told reporters that she has been annoyed by him for over a decade and hopes he finds the hard drive soon so she can have some peace.
Newport accepted James’s lawsuit but has not disclosed much information. The city council still insists that all of James’s evidence is based on speculation and conjecture, and they have no reason to support his antics.
After watching the back-and-forth and the decade-long grudge, netizens have shared their “truthful” opinions:
“First of all, 10% of £590 million can’t turn this city into Dubai.
Secondly, is he willing to pay for the search? It’s hard to understand how he thinks he can win in court.”
“Brother, open your eyes; that thing is long gone. You can’t blame anyone but yourself for not keeping your things safe.
The hard drive is probably covered in all sorts of grime by now, and even if you find it, you won’t be able to recover the data.”
“Money comes easily, goes easily.”
Returning to the case itself.
James’s lawsuit against the city council for infringing on his intellectual property rights will be heard in court in December. Let’s see how it unfolds.
Imagine James’s state of mind, thinking about billions within reach but unable to grasp it; anyone would find it hard to give up, and some might even be more persistent than him.
