Thai authorities have uncovered an illegal Bitcoin mining operation responsible for recent power outages in a city west of Bangkok.
According to local reports, the raid took place on August 23 after residents complained about constant power outages that had affected the area for over a month. The investigation began in mid-July when residents reported unexplained power outages.
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and local police have traced the incident to a house in Ratchaburi. Upon inspection, they found that the property was used for bitcoin mining, an activity that consumes large amounts of electricity.
Jamnong Chanwong, the district’s top security official, said the house’s electricity consumption was unusually high and the payments made for the electricity were suspiciously low, suggesting that the operators were stealing electricity to run their mining equipment. The house had been rented by a company for about four months, which coincides with the period when the power outages began.
Although authorities reportedly seized the equipment, no arrests were made during the raid. It is believed that those responsible fled when they realized they were being investigated. The case remains under investigation as officials work to identify the people behind the operation.
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