Police in Malaysia’s Jahor state have busted a seven-men gang that stole 8.6 million Malaysian ringgits ($2.15 million) value of electrical energy to mine bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies.
● Police stated they seized 1,746 bitcoin (BTC) mining machines throughout 21 premises in raids carried out between Feb.15 and Feb.16, the Malay Mail reported. The miners are claimed to be value a mixed 2.6 million ringgits ($650,000).
● Seven native suspects aged between 24 and 64 had been nabbed within the operation, which concerned home energy firm Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
● “The syndicate, which has been energetic for the reason that starting of final 12 months, carried out its actions on the highest flooring of a shophouse to keep away from detection by the authorities,” stated Johor’s police chief, Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
● Ayob Khan added that police are nonetheless investigating the operation, whose alleged mastermind and different gang members are nonetheless at massive.
● “Investigators usually are not ruling out the likelihood that the syndicate additionally has hyperlinks with syndicates in different states that perform the identical modus operandi used of their bitcoin mining actions,” he stated.
● Based on Johor TNB, final 12 months the electrical energy firm suffered losses of round 90 million ringgits ($22.5 million) from energy thefts associated to bitcoin mining.
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