Police here raided two premises in Kamunting where bitcoin mining operations were going on, using stolen electricity which caused Tenaga Nasional Bhd losses amounting to RM600,000 over three months.

Meanwhile, Kuching police also discovered cryptocurrency mining which was believed to have been operating for over six months at five shophouses in Miri, causing Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) losses of RM4.4 million.

Miri police chief Hakemal Hawari told Bernama that police raided five premises at a commercial centre on Tuesday and Wednesday, where the cryptocurrency mining was being carried out, following a public tip-off.

“A total of 759 units of Antminer Bitman crypto mining machines, 27 units of modems, 12 routers, five sets of computer cables, five sets of digital mining machine cables, a laptop computer and one central processing unit were seized in the raids,” he said.

“Initial investigations revealed that the premises have been carrying out the activity for more than six months and estimated to have caused losses of RM4.4 million to SEB via power theft,” he said.

Taiping district police chief Osman Mamat said the activities in Kamunting were exposed after police, with TNB’s cooperation, raided two premises and arrested two men, aged 19 and 34, at 11.45am yesterday.

Various items and tools used to steal electricity for bitcoin mining were seized in the raids.

“Early investigations showed that both suspects had been conducting the activity for the past three months and TNB had been losing about RM200,000 a month from electricity theft,” he told reporters here today.

Osman said the suspects’ modus operandi was to rent premises in secluded areas and modify the interior for better ventilation before connecting electricity supply without a meter for bitcoin mining.