GEORGE TOWN: Police raided three premises in Jelutong here today, used to carry out Bitcoin mining activities, and seized 200 units of Bitcoin machines worth RM80,000.
Northeast district police chief Assistant Commissioner Soffian Santong said police uncovered the Bitcoin mining activities following a raid at the first premises along Jalan Perak at about 12.30pm following a police report by a resident there about noises coming from a shophouse.
"Initial checks showed the premises was used for Bitcoin mining activities.
"During checks, police also detained four men, aged between 20 and 35, inside the premises.
"Further investigation by the police and Tenaga Nasional Bhd found that the syndicate had illegally connected electricity into their premises," he said.
Soffian said interrogations on the men led police to another two shophouses in Jelutong, which also carried out Bitcoin mining activities, and had illegal connection of electricity.
Soffian said illegal activities at the three premises resulted in TNB suffering losses of about RM100,000 every month due to electricity theft.
The syndicate has been operating for a few months now.
Meanwhile, Soffian said the four men detained claimed they were carrying out maintenance works of the Bitcoin machines and paid RM3,000 each by a man who employed them.
"One of the men detained claimed he had worked for the past two months, saying that when he started work, the Bitcoin machines were already inside the shophouses.
"Further investigation is being carried out to identify the mastermind. We believe several other premises are being used for a similar purpose," he added.
The men have been remanded to facilitate investigation under Section 379 and Section 427 of the Penal Code as well as Section 37 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990.