It’s always a sad day when police discover crypto mining equipment and presume the miner is doing something illegal, but unfortunately that’s the world we live in. Police in Brazil raided the home of a crypto miner – who has a previous conviction for drug trafficking – where they discovered a room full of crypto mining rigs. The police them jumped to the conclusion that the man was part of a gang using crypto to launder profits from drug operations. On top of allegedly using the block rewards for drugs, the miner was also accused of illegally importing the rigs from China.
Stealing Power
Miners face huge problems – besides the nuisance of police smashing down your front door – with electricity being a major issue. Unfortunately, this miner was stealing electricity from the local power grid by splicing off a connection to his home from the main power lines in the street – a common practice in poorer areas of the world.
In China, one crypto miner had tapped into the local rail network’s power system and was stealing electricity on mass. It’s estimated that he stole around $15,000 worth of power from the rail network and he has been forced to repay the costs – no wonder the trains are always delayed.
Drug Bust or Crypto Mining Hate?
While the Brazilian crypto miner was breaking the law by stealing power from the national grid – and keeping a .40 caliber pistol with the serial number scraped off – a man on the other side of the world received the same rude awakening for doing nothing wrong at all. An Australian crypto miner came home to find his gate destroyed and his front door handing off its hinges after police raided his home. According to a raid warrant, police suspected the man of running a cannabis grow site at his house due to the complex ventilation system and increased power usage. However, when police got inside they discovered a room full of crypto mining rigs – not the epic weed bust they were hoping for.
Speaking on the raid, Adriano Nonnenmacher – Delegate to the Civil Police of the State of Rio Grande do Sul – said:
It’s a well-hidden, clandestine place. Let us deepen the investigations. Everything indicates that it may be a bitcoin mining activity. They can make the exchange and payment for drug dealers. There is also the possibility of using the money of the traffic to buy bitcoins.
This leads us to believe there is still hope for this crypto miner and the Bitcoin mining community in Brazil. If the miner in question can repay his debts owed to the power company for stealing power, his mining operation can resume operations once more – helping to further decentralize the Bitcoin network.
