Officials from the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and the Metropolitan Police seized more than 70 computers in raids on two shop-houses in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao and Bueng Kum areas. It is thought that the equipment was being used to mine cryptocurrency coins.
MEA officials detected excessive use of electricity at a three-storey shop-house in Soi Prasert-Manukitch in the Bueng Kum area and at a another location in Lat Phrao Soi 128/3, despite the fact that the two premises did not have official access to an electricity supply.
Inspectors were sent to investigate and found that electrical wires from the two houses were directly connected to the main electrical cables, without going through meters.
Accompanied by police from Lat Phrao and Khok Khram police stations, MEA officials raided the two locations on Saturday. The door of the first shop-house, in Bueng Kum, was found to be electronically locked, forcing the officials to use a ladder to enter via the second floor. They found about 40 desk-top computers and laptops in the building.
In the raid on the second shop-house in the Lat Phrao area, the officials found 30 more computers.
There was no one in either of the premises at the time of the raids.
The MEA has warned that stealing electricity is a serious offense and carries heavy fines and prison terms on conviction.
