Free Electricity, Fixed Income: Johor's Three-Man Mining Side Hustle Rigs the Grid 🪙

Malaysian police arrested three men and seized 71 cryptocurrency mining rigs after four raids conducted on July 22 and 23 by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) across rented premises in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru Utara, and Kulai, Johor. The Johor police chief said the suspects comprised a manager who oversaw the activities and two technicians. The bust, codenamed Ops Letrik, was carried out by the Johor Contingent Police Headquarters' Criminal Investigation Department (D4) in collaboration with TNB's Southern Region SEAL team, and targeted three residential homes and one shophouse rented at RM5,000 to RM6,000 per month.

The syndicate generated an estimated RM80,000 to RM100,000 (~$25,000) in monthly profits through illegal Bitcoin mining, with the economics underpinned by electricity theft that shifted power costs from the operators to TNB. Separately, $BTC traded at $65,300 at the time of publication, down 0.4% over the prior 24 hours after losing the $66,000 level, with support at $65,000 holding and $BTC above its uptrend.

The enforcement action comes as broader scrutiny of unauthorized mining operations has intensified across Southeast Asia, where the combination of cheap hardware access and weak electrical oversight has repeatedly produced similar cases. Authorities said the seized equipment will be processed according to standard procedure, and the suspects remain in custody as investigations continue into the broader electricity diversion network used to power the operation.