More than 150 police seize 1,720 Bitcoin mining machines

More than 150 police were called into a mega-operation and seized thousands of Bitcoin mining machines in the action.

Bitcoin mining is an essential activity in the decentralized digital currency network, bringing more security to the sector. For this purpose, specific machines for mining, the so-called Asics, are used.

One of the points that draws attention to these electronic equipment is precisely their high energy consumption, which ends up being a problem for those who carry out the activity. In clandestine mining operations, however, operators often make the famous “cat” on the electricity grid, a practice considered theft.

More than 154 police seize thousands of Bitcoin mining machines

In Malaysia, a country of 32 million people, a mega-operation caught the attention of the local population this week. revealed by Perak Police this Friday (30), the operation took place in the district of Lumut.

The action involved a total of 21 Senior Police Officers with 133 Perak Contingent Police Officers assisted by 15 Special Technicians and 6 members from the Sitiawan Fire and Rescue Station.

Once the operation was launched, the objective of the police was to carry out raids on 75 suspicious addresses. Of these, 30 establishments had mining machines found, in full activity.

The Harian Metro portal went to the place where the machines were displayed by the police and saw the vast amount of equipment seized by the authorities.

This is the second major operation carried out by Malaysian authorities in 2021, as in July 2021 authorities also released a video of a tractor destroying 1,000 mining machines in the country.

Loss of millions for power company

The summary of the operation had a positive balance in the view of the authorities, who claimed to have detained a 28-year-old Chinese man during the operation. It is unclear, according to information released by the police, whether these facilities belonged to a company or whether they were several different operators operating in the country.

In total, 1720 units of Bitcoin mining machines, 15 monitors, 22 cabinets, 16 keyboards, 7 mice, 56 modem equipment, 1 Toyota Hilux, among other items were seized. The total value of the confiscation is approximately RM 3.5 million, equivalent to R$ 4.6 million.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) power company suffered a loss of approximately RM 2 million due to illegal use of electricity, according to police, an estimated loss of BRL 2.66 million.

As previously seen by Malaysian authorities, it is possible that the equipment will be destroyed again, leaving the cryptocurrency market altogether. The imprisoned man will be able to answer for the theft of energy, and the case will have to be better investigated with the apprehension of the materials.