Malaysian authorities confiscated mining equipment worth $12.9 million in 2021

Illegal mining in Malaysia surged in 2021, with the value of confiscated cryptocurrency-mining equipment totaling $12.9 million. This was announced by the head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Dato’ Seri Abdul Jalil Hassan, according to Malay Mail.

Law enforcement opened 570 cases linked to this activity and arrested 528 people. By comparison: in 2020 there were 20 cases, 26 arrests, and the value of confiscated equipment was about $300,000.

According to the CID chief, most detainees were aged 18 to 30, the oldest 61.

Illegal mining was concentrated mainly in Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Penang. In the districts of these cities there are numerous industrial zones with ample electricity supply.

To site mining farms, suspects used remote locations so that people could not hear the noise or feel the heat emitted by the equipment.

Illegal mining is closely linked to electricity theft and the risks of fires arising from non-compliance with safety requirements. In operations to curb such activity, specialists from the energy company TNB are involved. They identify suspicious locations with high consumption and use drones with thermal imaging to detect mining facilities by the heat they emit.

In July 2021, police in Malaysia rolled over 1,069 ASIC miners, confiscated them in six raids.