In 2021, the volume of illegal mining in Malaysia increased sharply, the value of the confiscated equipment for mining cryptocurrencies amounted to $12.9 million, said Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan, head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Law enforcement officers opened 570 cases related to this activity and arrested 528 people. For comparison, in 2020 there were 20 cases, 26 arrests, and the value of the confiscated equipment was about $300,000.
According to the head of the CID, most of the detainees are between 18 and 30 years old, the oldest is 61 years old.
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Cases of illegal mining mainly occur in Kuala Lumpur, Perak, and Penang. In the areas of these cities, there are many industrial zones with a sufficient amount of electricity.
The suspects used remote locations to host mining farms so that people would not hear the noise or feel the heat generated by the equipment.
Illegal mining is closely linked to the theft of electricity and the risk of fires due to non-compliance with safety requirements. Specialists from the energy company TNB are involved in operations to curb such activities. They identify suspicious locations with high consumption and use drones with thermal cameras to identify mining objects by the heat generated.