TAIPING, Feb 18 — Police raided two premises in Kamunting here which were running bitcoin mining operations on stolen electricity that eventually caused Tenaga Nasional Berhad to suffer losses amounting to RM600,000 over three months.

District police chief ACP Osman Mamat said the activities were exposed after police, with TNB’s cooperation, raided the two premises and arrested two men, aged 19 and 34, at 11.45 am yesterday.

The raiding team also seized various items and tools used to steal electricity used for bitcoin mining.

"Early investigations found that both suspects had been conducting the activity for the past three months and TNB had been losing about RM200,000 a month from electricity theft,” he told reporters here today.

Osman said the suspects’ modus operandi was to rent premises in secluded areas and modify the interior for better ventilation before connecting electricity supply without a metre for bitcoin mining. — Bernama