At 7:00 am on November 30, 2022, in front of the Special Investigation Department building on Chaengwattana Road, Mr Triiyarit Temahivong, Director General of the Special Investigation Department Police Major General Yuttana Praedum, Deputy Director General of the Special Investigation Department and Police Major General Waranan Srilam, Director of the Special Cases Administration Department/Spokesperson of the Special Investigations Department. release the officer’s line to open the battle to stop the lightning or Operation “Electric Shock” with the Police Lieutenant-Colonel Chalermchon Unhaseri, deputy director of the Litigation Technology and Information Division. Acting Director of the Technology and Information Case Division and Mr. Chawaphon Sinpoonphak, Director of the Technology and Information Case Division 2 working in conjunction with the Forensic Science Institute, the Customs Department, and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority. and the Provincial Electricity Authority Launching the “Electrical Shock” campaign to search commercial buildings suspected of having stolen electricity. To be used as a mining point for mining digital currency in the amount of 41 in the area of Nonthaburi and Bangkok Causing the state to lose more than 500 million baht in revenue per year
Because the Department of Special Investigations has received complaints of technology crimes There is illegal mining of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin. Bitcoin mining equipment is stolen from overseas. and illegal use of electricity causing damage to the country The Director General of the Department of Special Investigations therefore assigned the Litigation Technology and Information Division to be responsible for investigation by coordinating with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and the State Electricity Authority Including the Department Customs Until they were found, many suspicious points spread in and around the Bangkok area
For mining such bitcoins, a large amount of electricity is used. The size corresponds to an industrial factory. But there is smuggling to direct fire without passing the meter which is electric current which is a crime of theft under the Criminal Code And there may be many other crimes involved. Litigation Technology and Information Division Conducted an investigation until finding a group of investors who were renting more than 41 commercial buildings in and around Bangkok to be used as a place to install digital currency mining machines.
Each building will install around 100 digital currency mining machines at each point. By not passing the electricity meter, causing electricity costs to be significantly lower than reality Having to pay around 500,000 baht per month for electricity per station, but actually paying around 300 – 2,000 baht per station, causing damage to r Metropolitan Electricity Authority of more than 20 million baht per month or almost 300 million baht per year.
Special Investigation Department Approving a search warrant from the Criminal Court to search 41 suspected commercial premises to seek evidence of electricity theft. to impeach a criminal case And together with the Institute of Forensic Science more than 2,000 digital currency mining machines worth more than 400 million baht were seized for examination. Including checking with the Customs Department that the Kingdom of Thailand is being imported. through customs formalities Legal or not If it falls within the scope of a crime which is a special case, the case in question will be subject to further investigation.
The officers led the force to search in the first place. Phatthaniwet Village, Samakkhi Road, Soi Samakkhi 28, Tha Sai Subdistrict, Mueang Nonthaburi District It is a 4-storey commercial building, spread over 6 buildings. And found that machines and equipment were installed on every floor from the 1st floor to the 4th floor. and equipped with cooling fan, dust filter, sound proof wall well Each building has about 100 to 200 devices installed. Before confiscating all the machinery and equipment, ready to take the owner to investigate and prosecute in the Special Investigations Department, DSI. To begin with, it was found that all of the 41 points that were searched today were all the same owners.
However, from the extended investigation, it was found that there is currently an illegal use of electricity. Mining large amounts of digital currency in many areas across the country. by importing digital currency mining machines from abroad especially from the People’s Republic of China to be installed in commercial buildings with not high rental prices Then it will secretly connect the power directly to the building. To reduce the cost of electricity for cryptocurrency mining. and leave the excavator Open 24 hours a day with no residents in the building. Such actions, as well as being illegal, also cause the risk of fire. Because the digital money mining has a high electricity consumption which is similar to the electricity used in a factory. causing high heat which is the wrong type of commercial building In this issue the Special Investigations Department will continue to expand the results.
Special Investigation Department Public relations with commercial building owners or occupants of various commercial buildings. Let us help observe the surrounding area. If you find a suspicious place, report it to the police. Regarding the case where the Electricity Authority officers will be involved or not. The Special Investigations Department will continue to expand the investigation.
