Thai authorities uncovered an illegal operation stealing significant amounts of electricity to mine Bitcoin.
In Thailand, police seized 996 Bitcoin miners from JIT Co., a company based in the Phanat Nikhom district of Chon Buri province. The company, officially registered for digital asset trading, is now under investigation for large-scale electricity theft.
According to the Bangkok Post, the operation was led by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) in collaboration with the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA). CSD Commander Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan stated that suspicions arose after anomalies in the company’s energy consumption patterns were detected.
The company allegedly tampered with electricity meters to conceal the actual power usage of their mining operations. An anonymous employee admitted to investigators that the tampering was primarily conducted at night, while during the day, the system operated normally to avoid suspicion.
Preliminary estimates from the PEA suggest that the economic damage caused by the energy theft amounts to hundreds of millions of baht, equivalent to several million dollars. Authorities are still calculating the exact extent of the losses while continuing investigations to identify all individuals involved in the illegal operation.
The CSD confirmed that arrest warrants for those responsible will be requested once the investigation is complete.