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Authorities apprehend individuals stealing crypto-mining power.

Authorities apprehend individuals stealing crypto-mining power.

Police and electricity authorities conducted raids in Chachoengsao and Surat Thani provinces, apprehending suspects and confiscating cryptocurrency mining equipment that had illegally consumed electricity worth tens of millions of baht.

Last weekend, officials focused their efforts in Surat Thani, searching seven commercial buildings and two homes in the Muang district. Two men, identified only as Nathapong and Arthit, both 30 years old, were arrested, and a total of 111 crypto mining machines were seized, along with seven desktop computers, 10 routers, and 10 modified power meters.

Authorities acted on tips from informants, who noted that the buildings were deserted yet equipped with surveillance cameras, as reported by Crime Suppression Division commander Pol Maj Gen Montri Theskhan on Tuesday. Investigations revealed that Mr. Nathapong had rented the commercial buildings and owned the two residences, engaging in financial transactions exceeding 40 million baht from January 2023 to July 2023.

Officials also discovered that although the sites were consuming significant amounts of electricity, their power bills were suspiciously low, indicating potential tampering with the electricity meters. During the raid over the weekend, law enforcement found a substantial amount of crypto mining hardware.

Pol Maj Gen Montri relayed that Mr. Nathapong admitted to starting the illegal operation late last year, acquiring secondhand mining devices for his enterprise. Mr. Arthit reportedly confessed to being hired to modify power meters and maintain power supply networks across the nine locations.

Electricity officials estimated that the crypto mining operations were responsible for about 10 million baht in power theft.

In Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, authorities targeted an abandoned warehouse in the Sala Daeng area of Bang Nam Prieo district on Tuesday. There, they discovered 109 active crypto mining machines along with 66 additional units that were yet to be installed, valued at approximately 17 million baht. The raid was initiated after officials noted the warehouse was consuming power despite being unoccupied, leading to the discovery of over 10 million baht in electricity theft in recent months.

These raids follow another operation in Kanchanaburi just a month earlier, which revealed crypto mining activities at 10 different locations. Cryptocurrency mining is known to be highly power-intensive, as the billions of calculations necessary require massive computing resources. Research from the U.S. indicated that in 2023, efficient mining operations could use around 155,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) to mine a single bitcoin. In Thailand, with an estimated power tariff of 4 baht per kWh, this would equate to 620,000 baht. In contrast, an average household power bill in Thailand is estimated at only 750 baht per month.

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