JOHOR BARU: Three men have been arrested for allegedly stealing electricity to run a cryptocurrency mining operation at four premises.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the suspects, aged 26 to 46, comprised a manager who oversaw the activities, and two technicians who tended to the installation and operation of the cryptocurrency mining machines.
“The suspects, who are from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, were arrested on Wednesday (July 22) and Thursday (July 23).
“Based on our initial investigation, the syndicate had been operating for about a month in Johor Baru, Iskandar Puteri and Kulai,” he said in a press conference on Friday (July 24).
He said the suspects mined cryptocurrency worth between RM80,000 and RM100,000 during the month-long operations.
He added that the syndicate directly tapped electricity sources without going through legitimate TNB meters, allowing it to operate without paying electricity bills.
“The four premises were houses and a shoplot rented by the syndicate through a third party,” he said.
Police also seized 71 cryptocurrency mining machines, computers, laptops, routers, monitors, keyboards, mobile phones, padlocks, keys and two vehicles during the raids.
Comm Ab Rahaman said the suspects, who were earning about RM5,000 each from activities, were being remanded for four days until Sunday (July 26) and the case was being investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code and Section 37(1) of the Electricity Supply Act 1990.
