Thailand authorities raid illegal mining operation west of Bangkok

Thailand authorities raided an illegal Bitcoin (BTC) mining operation in Ratchaburi, a town west of Bangkok on Friday, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday. The raid took place after several residents in the area complained of frequent blackouts for over a month.

Jamnong Chanwong, a chief district security officer, said:

“We found bitcoin mining rigs, pointing to people using this house to operate a mine and using power they didn’t fully pay for.”

According to Chanwong, records indicated that the raided house was consuming an unusually large amount of electricity. However, the residents were not paying for most of the consumed power.

Chanwong said that the authorities visited the house in question on Thursday but were denied entry by a guard. Subsequently, the authorities went back with a search warrant the next day to conduct the raid.

During the raid, the police and officials from the Provincial Electricity Authorities (PEA) discovered that most of the mining equipment had already been relocated.

The raided house was rented by a company for four months but residents started complaining of power outages last month, when the mining operation was likely in full swing.

While no one was arrested during the raid, this is the fourth raid the authorities have conducted on illegal Bitcoin mines in the Ratchaburi region.

Illegal Bitcoin mines on the rise

Bitcoin miners are treated as manufacturers in Thailand and are subject to associated taxes. However, illegal mining operations have been increasing over the years, not just in Thailand but across Southeast Asia.

According to a report published by Malay Mail last month, illegal mining operations are to be blamed for electricity thefts worth $723 million between 2018 and 2023. To control the epidemic, Malaysian authorities destroyed Bitcoin mining rigs worth over $1.2 million confiscated from illegal operations.

Thailand has been implementing crypto regulations aimed at protecting investors while encouraging innovation. The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission started allowing retail investors to purchase digital assets backed by real estate or infrastructure projects.

However, rising cases of illegal mining in Thailand indicate a need for stricter enforcement of laws.