On 19 September, Venezuelan law enforcement, following the assault on Tocoron prison in the city of Maracay, seized several dozen ASIC miners and a large weapons cache. France24 reports this.
In the large-scale operation, more than 11,000 police and soldiers took part, with tanks and armored vehicles providing support. One member of the special forces was killed.
The prison had for several years been under the control of the country’s largest gang—the Tren de Aragua—and served as its headquarters.
In addition to the cryptocurrency mining room on site, there were casinos, a nightclub, restaurants, a baseball field and a zoo with exotic animals. The animals died in the fire that started during the raid.
According to the Venezuelan interior ministry, 1,600 inmates were held in bondage by the gang leaders. After the prison was seized, some managed to escape; the remainder were relocated to other correctional facilities.
Among the items seized, authorities displayed rocket launchers, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, explosives, machine-gun belts, drugs and expensive motorcycles.
The Tren de Aragua gang numbers around 5,000 members. It is linked to crimes across Venezuela and in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia.
Back in June, Malaysian energy supplier Sarawak Energy identified on the island of Borneo a mining farm, whose owners were involved in illegal cryptocurrency mining.