British police officers accidentally discover an illegal Bitcoin mine while hunting suspected cannabis cultivation

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British police officers stormed the doors of an industrial facility in the suburbs of Birmingham last month, expecting to find massive illegal cannabis cultivation. Inside, the police actually found an illegal collection facility – but instead of grass, the criminals actually harvested cryptocurrency.

Earlier this year West Midlands Police received indications that drug traffickers might be operating an illegal cannabis cultivation unit in a unit at the Great Bridge Industrial Estate in Sandwell. Police found that the unit had excessive electrical wiring and ventilation and that people entered the facility at unusual times of the day. A police drone also confirmed that the device emitted a lot of heat at all times.

In a statement, West Midlands Police said the excessive heat, wiring and ventilation were all “classic signs of a cannabis factory”. Based on these suspicions, police ransacked the facility on May 18. But when they entered the unit, not a single weed was in sight. Instead, the police discovered nearly 100 computers configured as a giant Bitcoin mine.

“It’s certainly not what we expected,” said Sandwell Police Sergeant Jennifer Griffin. “It had all the hallmarks of growing cannabis, and I believe it’s only the second such crypto mine we’ve come across in the West Midlands.”

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies use complex mathematical equations to ensure the security and anonymity of financial transactions. However, these equations are so complex that only thousands of powerful computers working in tandem can solve them. To cope with these extreme computational needs, entrepreneurs have set up bitcoin mining operations that offer computing power in exchange for a percentage of the currency they mined.

Bitcoin mining operations have sprung up all over the world, but the constant 24-7 operation of droves of power-hungry computers is bad news for the environment. According to Digiconomist, Bitcoin mining today consumes 1 percent of the world’s total electricity and causes almost 59 megatons of CO2 emissions every year – more than entire countries like Libya or New Zealand produce.

Despite the environmental impact, mining cryptocurrencies is completely legal in the UK and most other parts of the world. However, West Midlands Police quickly discovered that this particular mining operation was using illegal means to offset its own energy bills. Inquiries with the local utility company revealed that the operation actually stole thousands of pounds worth of electricity to power the computers.

“In my opinion, cryptocurrency mining is not itself illegal, but it clearly draws electricity from the grid to power it,” said Sergeant Griffin. “We have confiscated the equipment and will see if it will be permanently confiscated under the Crime Investigation Act. At the time of the warrant, no one was in the unit and no arrests were made – but we will inquire about the owner of the unit. “