Officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) have seized 3,500 Bitcoin mining machines and arrested a man in raids on 41 locations in Bangkok and its neighbouring province of Nonthaburi.

 

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin told the media today (Wednesday) that this illegal operation had been in business for about two years and has cost the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) an estimated 500 million baht in lost revenues from alleged electricity theft over that time.

 

He said that the successful crackdown on this illegal operation was the result of an extensive investigation by the DSI lasting more than a year.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/3500-bitcoin-mining-machines-seized-in-raids-in-bkk-and-nonthaburi/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-12-07

 

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As I saw the news on TV and read the paper, the arrests weren't for having a mining operation, the arrests were for bypassing electical meters (somehow) to power their mining operation.

That's fishy. You don't run multiple datacenters on stolen electricity for 2 years and nobody sees it. Unless they don't want to see it of course. TiT ????

Unless run on Solar Power, one cannot make a profit mining bit coin. And with current prices, it is almost impossible. In the US, I have solar powered set up in Las Vegas and was mining LTC. I shut them down because of low prices. 

How much bitcoins did they mine?

The Military Junta trying to raise funds for the upcoming election ‘Votes for Bitcoin’?

He said that the DSI suspect that some MEA employees might be complicit in the illegal operation, asking how it could be that the gang had stolen electricity for two years without their knowledge.

 

Well, well, well ............

12 hours ago, Onerak said:

Unless run on Solar Power, one cannot make a profit mining bit coin. 

Thats always been my thoughts on it along with the whole bitcoin thing is a Ponzi scheme for the tech elite 

 

11 hours ago, ThailandGuy said:

How much bitcoins did they mine?

Good question. Five million baht of electric is about 1200 bit coins at todays prices. That many machines, one point five bit coins per machine would be break evenish.

 

I wonder where that electricy would be today if it hadn't been used by thieves? Probably on someone's wrist, maybe, perhaps.

Edited December 8, 20223 yr by IAMHERE
Include weasel words for computer crimes act.

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin told the media today (Wednesday) that this illegal operation had been in business for about two years and has cost the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) an estimated 500 million baht in lost revenues from alleged electricity theft over that time.

Two years?

You would think that the Electric Company might have guessed at something not quite right

It's almost exactly two years ago a pile of special visas were made available for a certain class of immigrants. ._._._._._._.

 

I wonder who signed off ($$$) on the container load of machines. ._._._._._.

Edited December 8, 20223 yr by Kaoboi Bebobp

21 hours ago, kokesaat said:

the arrests weren't for having a mining operation,

The OP didn't report that they were arrested/machines seized for mining.

20 hours ago, MadMac said:

That's fishy. You don't run multiple datacenters on stolen electricity for 2 years and nobody sees it. Unless they don't want to see it of course. TiT ????

Unless MEA staff were complicit as the OP stated.

19 hours ago, Onerak said:

Unless run on Solar Power, one cannot make a profit mining bit coin. And with current prices, it is almost impossible. In the US, I have solar powered set up in Las Vegas and was mining LTC. I shut them down because of low prices. 

Their electricity was free, that's the point of the report, they were stealing the electricty.

4 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

You would think that the Electric Company might have guessed at something not quite right

You would think that you'd have read the article which did say that MEA staff were probably involved, probably nothing to report.

Arrested a man..

In 41 locations. 

He certainly gets around. 

6 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

You would think that the Electric Company might have guessed at something not quite right

Hard to tell when Street vendors couple up to the street lights in many locations. 

Edited December 8, 20223 yr by dallen52

16 hours ago, dallen52 said:

Hard to tell when Street vendors couple up to the street lights in many locations.

They are probably paying the BIB to look the other way.

On 12/8/2022 at 9:55 AM, IAMHERE said:

Good question. Five million baht of electric is about 1200 bit coins at todays prices. That many machines, one point five bit coins per machine would be break evenish.

 

I wonder where that electricy would be today if it hadn't been used by thieves? Probably on someone's wrist, maybe, perhaps.

In 2016/17 I was making about 350,000 a month in revenue and had an electric bill of around 130,000 THB. By the end of 2017 I was making around 140,000 and still had a 130k electric bill so I stopped. That was with a dozen ASIC miners that cost $1500 to $5000 each. Without exact figures it's hard to guess how much they made. They had at least $35 million USD invested just in hardware, maybe more. Even without paying for energy, it's unlikely they made out well in two years, with low BTC prices. Maybe they never even broke even.