Mexico expands hunt for illegal crypto mines

Mexico is stepping up its hunt for illegal crypto mines, a move that it hopes will cut down on large-scale electricity theft, after it dismantled a dam-powered operation with 300 computers.

Located in rural northern Puebla, the secret crypto mine illegally siphoned electricity generated from Mexico’s Nuevo Necaxa dam.

Local media reports that Puebla’s Public Security Secretariat will expand its search for similar sites across neighbouring states. 

Read more: Malaysian minister says crypto miners behind $722M electricity theft

The agency’s head, Francisco Sánchez, said, “This activity consumes a great deal of energy and generates a lot of noise, which is why operators seek out isolated and very remote locations.”

Puebla’s authorities suspect the operation may have helped legitimize and launder the profits of other illegal activities. 

Elsewhere in Mexico, Mexican prosecutors believe that the murder of Jonathan Meléndez, his pregnant wife Ana Paula Barragán, their three-year-old daughter Sofía, and 21-year-old nanny Aleyda Romero, was motivated by a BTC stash the killers believed was worth millions of dollars.

Diego Sebastián “N” and Gerardo “N” were arrested on September 2. No BTC was stolen in the homicide, and a witness account later referred to a device that held 3 million pesos in crypto (worth $177,000).

Read more: Paraguay shuts illegal bitcoin mines that stole enough power to light a city

Legitimate BTC mining companies have to factor in energy costs to power the computers, the cost of keeping them cool, and local regulations on commercial electricity usage. 

However, illegal operations look for weak or poorly maintained energy infrastructure that they can redirect without raising suspicions.

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