Thailand authorities broke into a Bitcoin mining farm in the wee hours of the night and confiscated nearly 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines during a raid on the site located in the Phanat Nikhom district of Chonburi.

The operators of the farm were caught red handed, tempering with the electricity meters to use electricity for their mining operations largely free of charge. An unnamed staff member admitted to the police that the crooks has deliberately timed the theft to occur during the night, with the power meter functioning as usual during the day to avoid detection.

Losses incurred by electricity providers were estimated at hundreds of millions of baht.

Currently, local authorities are still investigating the case and trying to identify those responsible for the operation.

This is not the first time a similar crime has been committed. In fact, because of how energy intensive the Bitcoin mining process is, many operators often resort to illegal methods to stretch their profit margin.

Not the first time

In August last year, the PEA took down a similar operation in Ratchaburi, a town west of Bangkok, after unregistered miners were found stealing power from local electricity grid, leading to frequent blackouts in the neighbourhood.

More recently, two individuals from the Surat Thani province were charged with stealing over $280,000 in electricity to power in mining rigs in an abandoned property.

Similar activities have also been uncovered in the other parts of the world. Malaysia's national electricity provider, in October 2024, reports that the country loses over $100 million from electricity theft used to power Bitcoin mining hardware.