Drone Uncovers $1.1 Billion Criminal Network in Southeast Asia After Spotting Anomalies Over Abandoned Buildings

In Malaysia’s hotspots for illegal cryptocurrency mining, the hunt begins from above. Drones buzz over shop lots and abandoned houses, searching for unexpected heat signatures—tell-tale signs of machines that shouldn’t be running. On the ground, police carry handheld sensors to detect abnormal electricity usage. Sometimes, the chase is less high-tech: residents call in complaints about unusual bird sounds, only for authorities to uncover that the natural noises mask the roar of machinery behind closed doors.

These tools form a mobile surveillance network in the pursuit of illicit Bitcoin miners. Operating from vacant shops to deserted homes, these miners install heat shields to conceal the glow of their rigs. They fortify their setups with surveillance cameras, heavy-duty security systems, and shattered glass barriers at entrances to deter uninvited visitors.

It’s a cat-and-mouse game between Bitcoin miners and Malaysian authorities, who have recorded nearly 14,000 illegal mining sites over the past five years. According to the Ministry of Energy, electricity theft has cost the state utility company Tenaga Nasional (TNB) approximately $1.1 billion during this period. The situation is escalating rapidly—by early October, as Bitcoin hit record highs (before a 30% crash and subsequent recovery), authorities logged around 3,000 electricity theft cases linked to mining.

Malaysia is now ramping up its response. On November 19, the government established a special inter-agency committee led by the Ministry of Finance, Bank Negara Malaysia, and TNB. This task force plans coordinated crackdowns on illegal miners.

“It has become a challenge to our system,” stated Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation.

Bitcoin mining is a computational race. Specialized machines, known as “mining rigs,” perform trillions of calculations per second to validate transactions. When successful, miners earn cryptocurrency rewards.

Globally, Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than entire nations like South Africa or Thailand. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, over 75% of this activity now occurs in the United States. Malaysia’s share of the industry is modest—in January 2022, it accounted for just 2.5% of global hashrate, a measure of computational power.

What’s evident is Malaysian miners’ ingenuity in repurposing unconventional spaces. Bitcoin mining is legal in Malaysia, provided miners source electricity legally and pay taxes. However, compliance remains rare.

“I haven’t seen any well-managed mining operations that could be considered legally successful,” asserted Akmal, who participated in raids last year.

He went further, suggesting the sheer scale of illegal mining farms and the behavior of their operators indicate involvement of organized crime.

“Clearly, it’s run by a criminal syndicate, as they relocate so effortlessly,” Akmal noted. “They have their own modus operandi.”