Dutch police have seized a number of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of a criminal investigation for the first time.

The seizure was made during an investigation into the trade in private information, which led to the arrest of a 23-year-old man in Weesp and a 19-year-old from Hilversum earlier this month.

Both are suspected of selling personal details to scammers and others on a massive scale.

NFTs are unique digital ownership certificates which can be linked to a digital item, such as an image of piece of music. ‘Because NFTs have a value, they can be sequestered during a criminal investigation, as also happens with expensive cars or cash,’ the police said in a statement.

The police did not give further details about how the NFTs were acquired but technology expert Jarno Duursma told broadcaster NOS they may have had a court order to obtain the access codes.

Last year, the Dutch police seized nearly €35 mn in digital currencies, according to public prosecution department figures.