Malaysian police seized 1,069 bitcoin mining rigs, spread them out in a parking parcel at police central command, and utilized a steamroller to pulverize them, as a feature of a joint activity between law enforcement in the city of Miri and electric utility Sarawak Energy.

Aide Commissioner of Police Hakemal Hawari told the crackdown came after miners supposedly took $2 million worth of electricity directed from Sarawak Energy electrical cables.

A video of the occasion posted last week by nearby Sarawak media source Dayak Daily has since turned into a web sensation via online media.

Acting on a tip, experts on the island of Borneo seized the rigs in six separate assaults in February and April. In complete, police annihilated about $1.26 million of mining hardware.

Police selected to squash the mining gear rather than sell it, in understanding with a court request. Other nations, similar to China, have taken an alternate course, apparently auctioning off held onto rigs.

Hawari said that electricity theft by bitcoin miners prompted three houses to burn down in the city. The Miri police boss told that there are no other dynamic mining tasks in progress at present.

Crypto mining is the energy-intensive interaction that makes new bitcoin. At the point when individuals are “mining,” that implies they’re trying to tackle an unpredictable mathematical question using a profoundly specific PC. Solving that issue is both what opens new tokens and checks new exchanges. Notwithstanding, running those machines at full capacity draws a lot of force, which can imperil neighborhood power frameworks.

While mining for digital forms of money isn’t unlawful in Malaysia, there are stringent laws around influence use. Area 37 of Malaysia’s Electricity Supply Act compromises the individuals who alter electrical cables with fines of up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgit ($23,700) and five years in jail.

The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance gauges that Malaysia represents 3.44% of all the world’s bitcoin miners, placing it in the main ten mining destinations in the world.

Eight have been captured regarding the mining activity in Miri, and six individuals have been charged under Section 379 in the Penal Code for stealing energy supplies, according to Hawari. Those charged will be imprisoned for a very long time and face a fine of up to $1,900 per individual.

This is only the most recent illustration of Malaysia’s battle to find crypto mining criminals.

In March, a bitcoin miner in the city of Melaka on Peninsular Malaysia took $2.2 million worth of electricity from energy organization Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

Bitcoin mining is common in the Southeast Asian country, and there are customary reports of police arresting crypto-miners and seizing their rigs. While eager for energy, the interaction can be rewarding with each bitcoin as of now worth more than $32,000.

Malaysian Borneo is significantly less thickly populated than Peninsular Malaysia.