Police today revealed they have raided a cryptocurrency ‘mine’ stealing thousands of pounds worth of electricity from the National Grid.
Officers forced entry to the premises in an industrial estate in Sandwell, the West Midlands, on May 18 after tip-offs suggested it was being used as a cannabis farm.
Police heard how lots of people were visiting the unit at different times of day and lots of wiring and ventilation ducts were visible, before a drone picked up a heat source from above.
They are all classic cannabis factory signs – but when officers gained entry they found a huge bank of around 100 computer units, which were understood to be a Bitcoin mining operation.
The IT equipment was seized and enquiries with provider Western Power revealed the main electricity supply had been bypassed and thousands of pounds worth had been stolen.
Whilst pointing out that cryptocurrency mining is not in itself illegal, West Midlands Police said the set-up was the second using stolen electricity which they had encountered. The latest one is believed to be the largest one found in the UK.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are created or ‘mined’ by high-powered computers which continuously solve complex mathematical puzzles in an energy-intensive process that often relies on fossil fuels, particularly coal.
However, many of the computers used to mine bitcoin cost more to run than the value of the Bitcoin they create, making using stolen electricity a lucrative criminal ploy.
One of the selling points of Bitcoin is that it can be used anonymously – meaning the unregulated currency is popular with criminals who have used it to buy drugs and guns.
West Midlands Police’s Sergeant Jennifer Griffin said after the raid at Great Bridge Industrial Estate: ‘It’s certainly not what we were expecting!
‘It had all the hallmarks of a cannabis cultivation set-up and I believe it’s only the second such crypto mine we’ve encountered in the West Midlands.
‘My understanding is that mining for cryptocurrency is not itself illegal but clearly abstracting electricity from the mains supply to power it is.
‘We’ve seized the equipment and will be looking into permanently seizing it under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
‘No-one was at the unit at the time of the warrant and no arrests have been made – but we’ll be making enquiries with the unit’s owner.’
The warrant was one of almost 50 executed as part of the force’s County Lines Intensification Week earlier this month.
The force said the crackdown led to 84 arrests, significant drug seizures and the recovery of weapons including a sawn-off shotgun and a blank firing pistol which had been converted to discharge live rounds.
The cryptocurrency mining raid comes after bank NatWest yesterday issued an alert to people to beware of scams involving the digital money.
The bank said it has prevented millions of pounds from being sent to ‘crypto-criminals’.
The frauds typically involve criminals posting adverts online carrying a bogus celebrity endorsement on a fake website with an article promoting cryptocurrency.
Investors are asked to complete a contact form and the criminal uses these details to follow up with a telephone call.
