Computers and related equipment worth B5 million seized from two houses in Samut Prakan
SAMUT PRAKAN: Authorities have seized cryptocurrency mining hardware worth more than 5 million baht from two houses in Samut Prakan where electricity theft exceeded 500,000 baht a month.
Police did not say whether any people were arrested at the two locations that were raided.
Police and officials from the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) searched the two houses in Muang district on Friday afternoon after the MEA confirmed unusual use of electricity.
Two electricians authorised by the MEA — Chakkrit Phoonsawat, 30, and Yothin Termphol, 30 — had filed a complaint the day before with Muang district police against tenants of the two houses for allegedly stealing electricity.
The first raid took place at a house in tambon Bang Muang. Police seized 60 mining rigs worth about 3 million baht from the house, which allegedly stole electricity worth 300,000 baht a month.
In the second raid, at a house in Soi Sap Boonchai 28 in the same tambon, 20 mining rigs and computers worth about 2 million baht were seized. The tenants of the house stole electricity worth some 200,000 baht a month, police said.
Cryptocurrency mining is an extremely power-intensive activity because the billions of calculations involved require huge amounts of computing power. Mining a single Bitcoin is said to require 150,000 units (kilowatt-hours) of electricity.
Two electricians inspect equipment used for cryptocurrency mining following a raid on two houses in Samut Prakan. (Photo: Sutthiwit Chayutworakan)