In Malaysia, police reportedly destroyed more than 1,000 mining machines at the end of last week.
In a rather unusual incident, Malaysian authorities destroyed millions of dollars of cryptocurrency mining equipment. A video clip that made the rounds on social media on Friday shows several ASIC mining platforms being destroyed. At first, the clip caused confusion before it was discovered that it was the Malaysian police who participated in the obliteration.
The video first spread to the Chinese crypto community via WeChat and speculation was rife as to exactly where the destruction was taking place, with speculation that it could have been in Chinese or Latin American territory. However, the Malaysian media later confirmed that it was in fact the town of Miri, Sarawak State, and that a total of 1,069 mining machines on the Bitcoin had been destroyed.
Malaysia is at war with cryptocurrency miners who notoriously steal electricity and illegally use it to mine cryptocurrencies. In this case, the institution concerned, Sarawak Energy Berhad, carried out a joint operation with the Miri police between February and April this year, which led to the arrest of eight minors and the consequent seizure of equipment worth $ 1.25 million.
In addition, it was established that the illegal power grid had resulted in a loss of electricity worth $ 2 million. Six of the eight people arrested have since been charged with electricity theft. They face a fine of $ 2,000 each and up to eight months in prison, and the court has ordered the destruction of all mining equipment.
« A total of six people were successfully charged under Article 379 of the criminal code for theft of electricity and were sentenced to a fine of up to RM 8,000 and a prison sentence of up to eight months “, confirmed Hakemal Hawari, deputy commissioner of Miri Police.
This is not the first time cryptocurrency miners have targeted the Malaysian power grid as a source of cheap electrical power. In March, the state of Melaka sued a Bitcoin miner accused of siphoning electricity, resulting in losses worth $ 2.2 million for the power company Tenaga Nasional Berhad.
Friday’s incident raised questions as to why the police preferred to destroy such valuable equipment rather than recover the value of lost electricity using the devices.
The war against illegal cryptocurrency mining is unwavering, as governments around the world grapple with the impact of these activities. In an operation in Ukraine earlier this month, equipment was seized from a mining farm that used PlayStation 4 consoles as mining platforms. Iran is another country that has stepped up the war on miners in the wake of the country’s recent acute electricity shortage.
