Thai authorities have raided an illegal Bitcoin mining operation in Ratchaburi, a city in the western region of Bangkok, following numerous complaints from local residents about persistent power outages. The raid, which took place on August 23, 2024, revealed that the illegal Bitcoin mining activity was likely the cause of the ongoing blackouts that had plagued the area for over a month, according to a report by Cointelegraph.
The South China Morning Post reported that the investigation began after residents started experiencing unexplained power outages in mid-July 2024. These disruptions raised concerns for the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), which then collaborated with local police to trace the source of the outages to a single house.
Upon inspection, it was discovered that the house was being used as a base for illegal Bitcoin mining.
According to the district’s chief security officer, Jamnong Chanwong, although the property’s electricity consumption was exceptionally high, the payments made for the electricity were suspiciously low, indicating that the operators had been stealing electricity to power their mining activities.
The investigation further uncovered that the Bitcoin mining equipment had been installed by a company that had rented the house for approximately four months. The significant power outages coincided with the period when the mining operation was likely running at full capacity.
Despite the findings, no arrests were made during the raid, and the investigation is still ongoing. Authorities suspect that the operators of the illegal Bitcoin mining operation fled after realizing that their activities had attracted the attention of law enforcement.