UK Police raided an industrial unit expecting a cannabis farm. Instead, they got hit with a mega Bitcoin mining facility.
The West Midlands Police department targeted the facility, which had all the telltale signs of being a cannabis farm.
“We heard how lots of people were visiting the unit at different times of day, lots of wiring and ventilation ducts were visible, and a police drone picked up a considerable heat source from above,” their report read.
“They are all classic cannabis factory signs.”
Instead, the facility was overriding local power utility company controls, using power directly from the source, and stealing thousands of pounds of electricity in the process. AKA all the telltale signs of Bitcoin mining.
The police uncovered the facility, which was housing 100 computer units. For those who don’t know, Bitcoin mining requires high amounts of energy to secure the network.
Police revealed that the electricity supply had been bypassed, and thousands of pounds worth of power had been stolen to run the ‘mine.’
West Midlands Police Sergeant, Jennifer Griffin said that a crypto mine definitely wasn’t the first thought that crossed her department’s minds.
“It’s certainly not what we were expecting! It had all the hallmarks of a cannabis cultivation set-up and I believe it’s only the second such crypto mine we’ve encountered in the West Midlands.”
Sergeant Griffin then went on to add: “My understanding is that mining for cryptocurrency is not itself illegal but clearly abstracting electricity from the mains supply to power it is.”
Currently, no arrests have been made.
British police in the West Midlands raided a suspected cannabis farm and discovered an illicit bitcoin mining operation stealing electricity instead.
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Source: @guardian #Bitcoin #bitcoinnews
— Larissa (@larissafernand) May 28, 2021
Bitcoin is a digital currency that has seen a surge in investment popularity.
This has made cryptocurrency mining-related power theft more common.
Several electricity theft cases in China and Malaysia saw miners stealing millions of dollars to operate their machines.
