Law enforcement agencies of the Penza region reported that they immediately discovered four underground miners who cooperated and jointly stole electricity for the production of cryptocurrencies.

Employees of the department for combating organized criminal groups of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Penza region participated in the detention. Police officers in the city of Kuznetsk discovered five garages in which mining equipment was installed. To pay less for electricity, underground cryptocurrency miners have modified metering devices.

From January 2022 to May 2023, detainees’ devices illegally consumed more than 243,000 kWh, law enforcement agencies claim. The amount of damage caused to the resource supplying organization exceeded 250,000 rubles. The police confiscated 19 cryptocurrency mining devices, 12 electricity meters and several meter modification devices.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Penza Region opened a case under paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Causing property damage on a large scale by prior agreement). Underground miners face up to five years in prison.

Previously, Bits.Media published an article about illegal mining in Russia.