Malaysian authorities formed a joint task force using high-tech drones and police on the ground to find and shut down nearly 14,000 illicit Bitcoin mining rigs, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday.
Drones fly over buildings looking for signs of thermal heat, while police on the ground scan areas with sensors that detect illicit electricity use. Neighbors often call to complain about strange noises, only for police officers to find crypto mining rigs.
State utility Tenaga Nasional (TNB) recently reported that illegal crypto miners have stolen $1.1 billion from the national network since 2020.
“The risk of allowing such activities to occur is no longer about theft,” said Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, deputy minister of energy transition and water transformation, who chairs the panel. “It can even damage our facilities. It becomes a challenge for our system.”
That $1.1 billion is enough to fund the basic food needs of more than 567,000 people for a full year in Malaysia, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures that the average Malaysian consumer spent about $1,940 annually on food in 2023. Alternatively, it’s enough to supply electricity for a year to about 373,000 medium-sized households in the Asian country, according to Utara University estimates. Malaysia.
This is not the first time that Malaysian authorities have announced repressive measures. In May, the number of electricity thefts skyrocketed 300% between 2018 and the end of 2024, leading to the closure of nearly 2,400 illegal bitcoin mining operations.
TNB did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
