Thai authorities have seized 996 Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs in Chonburi province, accusing the operators of illegally siphoning power to power energy-hungry machines.
The raid, carried out in the Fanat Nikom area on January 8, highlights growing concerns about the misuse of public utilities in crypto mining operations. Thai authorities have previously conducted several raids on facilities that consume unusually large amounts of electricity.
Police and Crime Suppression Bureau officials targeted JIT Ltd., a company registered in digital asset trading, after finding evidence of tampering with electricity meters used to evade electricity bills.
Crime Suppression Bureau commander Montry Teskan, who led the operation, said the modified meters had allowed the company to avoid large electricity bills, costing local providers an estimated hundreds of millions of baht in losses.
Investigators noted that although there were solar panels on the premises, they were not connected to mining equipment that would require massive amounts of computing power to verify cryptocurrency transactions.
One official told reporters:
This type of theft not only costs the economy millions of dollars, but also strains the power supply. ”
Officials noted that the average household electricity bill in Thailand is about 750 baht a month, in sharp contrast to the industrial-scale consumption of the seized rigs.
Bitcoin mining is known to be energy intensive. Research shows that mining a single Bitcoin in 2023 required approximately 155,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, even using a highly efficient setup.
In Thailand, where electricity costs average 4 baht per kWh, mining 1 Bitcoin amounts to 620,000 baht, far more than the average household’s monthly electricity bill of 750 baht.
The operation highlights continuing challenges for regulators as crypto mining operations grow globally. The Thai government remains cautious about digital asset activity, with officials stressing the importance of protecting public resources from misuse.
Investigations continue to assess the full extent of the damage and identify additional parties involved in this scheme.
