Police in Russia’s Saint Petersburg arrested a man who tried to steal crypto by detonating airsoft grenades in the offices of a crypto exchange.

Officers detained the man in the exchange’s offices on November 22, Russian outlet Ria Novosti reported.

The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region said the suspect was a 21-year-old unemployed man from the 47th region, the centre of the Leningrad Oblast.

“The man entered the exchange office, detonated two airsoft grenades, and ignited a smoke bomb,” a ministry spokesperson explained. “Then he demanded that staff transfer all of the exchange’s crypto holdings to his own wallets.”

The attempted robbery comes amid a global rise in the number of violent crimes against crypto industry figures.

The number of physical attacks reported on crypto investors and their family members has risen by 54% this year, with attackers making off with $16 million.

Robber ‘had more explosive devices’

The ministry said the exchange’s office is located in a commercial unit on Khersonskaya Street, in downtown Saint Petersburg, near major landmarks such as the Hermitage.

Airsoft grenades are used in airsoft combat games, team-based recreational sports, whereby players use realistic replica firearms and firecracker-like, plastic bead-filled explosives in simulated combat scenarios.

Officers said the man had two undetonated airsoft grenades in his possession when they took him into custody.

Initially, the ministry also sent in bomb disposal experts to ensure that the man had no explosives that could cause deadly harm.

The ministry explained that the man was detained at the scene and is currently being remanded in custody. Officers have charged him with a violation of Article 162 of the Russian Criminal Code, a clause that pertains to robbery.

The ministry refrained from naming the crypto exchange involved, as did Russian media outlets. But Yandex map data shows that the building in question is home to the Yzex crypto exchange, whose offices are open on Saturday.

Tim Alper is a news correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email at tdalper@dlnews.com.