AN EXPERT team believe the prize at the end of the “greatest treasure hunt of all time” has been lying in a Newport landfill for a decade.

Ten years ago, James Howells realised he had lost a hard drive containing 8,000 units of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency – worth £4 million when he started his search, and around £227 million today.

Surrounded by an “Ocean’s Eleven” team of lawyers, documentarians, and experts in excavation, waste management and data recovery, Howells, now 38, has launched an international campaign to gain access to the landfill site.

Co-project manager Keaton Stone says the “final nuclear option” of legal action is now on the cards after Newport City Council have refused to engage with the team’s proposals.

“All that James ever wanted was for the council to see his presentations and hear about the experts we have on board,” he said.

“We have an answer for all their concerns, if they just sit with us, we can explain it to them.”

South Wales Argus: L-R: Bruce Drummond, Maria Mulla, James Howells, Keaton Stone

At one point, Mr Howells was offering the local authority a 25 per cent cut of the Bitcoin funds, should he retrieve the hard drive, which would be worth more than £50 million today.

Despite still offering to provide a cut for community schemes if they find the drive, Mr Stone says the council’s “bad attitude” has cost them millions of pounds.

Approving the dig would be an “easy win” for Newport council, they say, because of the potential for international media coverage.

“It would be the greatest treasure hunt of all time,” Mr Stone said. “It was a pipe dream, but the team is prepared to go all the way on this.”

The hunters have suggested using AI to filter through the landfill, recycling anything that can be along the way.

They recently gathered around a “Bitcoin round table” at the Caerleon Roman Fortress to watch James sign the first legal document to Newport council, sending the paper copy at the post office while lawyers fired off a digital version.

South Wales Argus: Bitcoin round table at Caerleon

The council says the excavation is not possible under their environmental permit. A spokesperson said: “Newport City Council has been contacted multiple times since 2013 about the possibility of retrieving a piece of IT hardware said to contain bitcoins, which may or may not be in our landfill site.

“The council has told Mr. Howells multiple times that excavation is not possible under our environmental permit, and that work of that nature would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.

“The council is the only body authorised to carry out operations on the site.

“We have been very clear and consistent in our responses that we cannot assist Mr. Howells in this matter. Our position has not changed. We will be offering no further comments on this issue as it takes up valuable officer time which could be spent on delivering services for the residents of Newport.”

You can sign the Let Him Dig petition at https://chng.it/zjx299gZT9.