Johor Police Nab Trio Behind Estimated RM100k Crypto Power Theft

Three men have been arrested for stealing RM100,000 worth of electricity to mine cryptocurrency in Johor Bahru. The suspects, aged 26 to 46, were caught by Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad after a month-long operation. They allegedly directly tapped electricity from four premises without using legitimate TNB meters, allowing them to operate without paying electricity bills based on actual tariff rates.

The syndicate rented three houses and a shoplot in Johor Baru, Iskandar Puteri, and Kulai to set up their cryptocurrency mining machines. Police seized 71 mining machines, computers, laptops, routers, monitors, keyboards, mobile phones, padlocks, keys, and two vehicles.

The suspects allegedly earned around RM5,000 each from the activities. According to Comm Ab Rahaman, TNB is estimated to have suffered nearly RM1 million in losses due to illegal electricity tapping for cryptocurrency mining. The police chief also warned that such activities pose fire and public safety risks.