泰國官員在停電後突襲搜查非法比特幣礦

這張照片插圖顯示了比特幣的物理表示

Thai authorities on Sunday said they busted an illegal bitcoin mine west of Bangkok after residents complained of frequent blackouts in the area for more than a month.

泰國當局週日表示，在居民抱怨該地區一個多月以來頻繁停電後，他們搗毀了曼谷西部的一個非法比特幣礦場。

Police and officials from the Provincial Electricity Authorities (PEA) raided the house in Ratchaburi town on Friday.

週五，警方和省電力局（PEA）官員突襲搜查了拉差布里鎮的這棟房子。

“We found bitcoin mining rigs, pointing to people using this house to operate a mine and using power they didn’t fully pay for,” Jamnong Chanwong, a chief district security officer, told AFP.

地區首席安全官賈姆農·查旺 (Jamnong Chanwong) 告訴法新社：“我們發現了比特幣採礦設備，表明有人使用這所房子來經營礦場，並使用他們沒有全額支付的電力。”

He said records showed that electricity consumption in the house was large, but they had paid for very little of it.

他說，記錄顯示，房子裡的用電量很大，但他們支付的電費卻很少。

Mining virtual currencies such as bitcoin requires powerful computers that consume huge amounts of electricity.

開採比特幣等虛擬貨幣需要消耗大量電力的強大電腦。

Bitcoin miners are considered manufacturers in Thailand and must pay associated taxes, but illegal mining has been on the rise for years.

比特幣礦機在泰國被視為製造商，必須繳納相關稅款，但非法採礦多年來一直在增加。

Jamnong said his team tried to enter the house on Thursday but a guard denied them entry. They then returned with a search warrant and found most of the equipment had been moved.

賈姆農說，他的團隊週四試圖進入這所房子，但一名警衛拒絕他們進入。然後他們帶著搜查令返回，發現大部分設備已被移動。

He said the house had been rented by a company for around four months, but the power outages began mid-July when the mine likely became fully operational.

他說，這棟房子已被一家公司租了大約四個月，但停電是從七月中旬開始的，當時礦井可能已經全面投入營運。

No-one was arrested during the raid, he added.

他補充說，突襲期間沒有人被捕。

It was the fourth time this year that authorities have raided an illegal bitcoin mine in Ratchaburi province.

這是當局今年第四次突擊搜查叻丕府的一個非法比特幣礦場。