The largest oil field in the People’s Republic of China has been a target for individuals and organizations attempting to mine bitcoins with free electricity. After a bunch of mining farm operators allegedly got caught last summer, a dog kennel owner was recently busted for running cable lines in order to siphon free electricity from China’s Daqing Oil Field. The mining farm owner was arrested, as police found 54 ASIC miners stored in an underground bunker with dog kennels on top making it seem like a legitimate operation.
Chinese Dog Kennel Owner Caught Running Cables to Daqing Oil Field to Power His Underground Mining Farm
Electrical costs in China are cheaper than most places around the world, and that is why there is a high concentration of China-based bitcoin mining operations. To this day, it is estimated that more than 60% of today’s bitcoin miners operate in China. On April 26, the regional publication dbw.cn/heilongjiang published a report that explained a bitcoin miner was just arrested for allegedly stealing free electricity from the Daqing Oil Field. The report notes that the mining farm operator got away with the free electricity for months in order to power 54 mining rigs underground.
Further investigation shows that the mining farm owner also operated a K-9 kennel housed with dogs above the bunker. The cover made it seem like he was operating a legitimate business, while he had long cables running into China’s largest oil field. The oil field in Daqing is located between the Songhua river and Nen River. Estimates show that Daqing Oil Field has produced well over 10 billion barrels since the operation started. The man who was busted running cable lines into the oil field is not the only entrepreneur who has tried that specific method. Daqing Oil Field has been a target for many bitcoin mining operators who have attempted to run cables into the plant.
China’s Largest Oil Field Is Becoming Well Known for Underground Mining Operations
Last June, police in China caught villagers running cable wires into the oil field in order to power their mining rigs. At the time, the Green Grassland Police Station in Heilongjiang got a call from the executives at Daqing Oil Field that claimed people were running cables into the plant. Ostensibly the officers deployed aircraft and drones to find enough evidence in order to press charges against the bitcoin miners.
Electricity theft in China for powering bitcoin farms has happened in other regions as well. During the month of October 2018, one man was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for stealing power from a local train station. It has been happening internationally as well, as many authorities have caught people in other countries stealing electrical resources from power plants. In February 2019, a group of people got arrested in Germany for mining ETH and BTC with stolen electricity from a German plant.
During the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Daqing Oil Field was lauded as one of the most important power plants in China, according to Chinese state media outlets. Now the field is better known for the number of cable lines being secretly attached to it and fueling the power of ASIC mining farms.
What do you think about the K-9 kennel owner caught stealing electricity? Let us know in the comments below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, dbw.cn/heilongjiang
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