There is one detainee; the equipment is under the control of the Public Ministry now. The unidentified person is currently accused of committing “computer crimes”.
A police procedure resulted in a detainee and the capture of 37 ASIC equipment for Bitcoin mining in the Carabobo State, a state in the central region of Venezuela, on January 12. The local police dismantled the place in its entirety as it operated without the proper regulations.
The place where the operation took place was El Encanto urbanization, El Oasis sector, according to the police authorities. The police did not show to the media the identity of the detainee. The only report they made was that he is a 53-year-old man, and the accusations now involve him in “computer crimes”.
The Equipment was Operating in Clandestinity
The officials made a patrol work in the sector and spotted the suspicious citizen, which started a fleeing behavior after seeing the police patrol around.
Consequently, the police started a brief inspection of the site, and then the equipment appeared, such equipment was operating inside a container without any neither required nor official permit.
“The police proceeded to inspect the courtyard of the property and got to observe a container from which a loud unusual noise came, the police then managed to find 37 machines of Bitcoin operating”, PoliCarabobo, the police team that led the operation, explained in a message that appears in its Instagram account.
They disconnected, seized, and placed all these bitcoin mining machines at the hands of the Public Ministry. Police also got to seize a vehicle and a computer. Further details about the supervisory court that will lead the case or the place where the detained is are still unclear. It is also unclear if the officials showed a court order to enter the property. In the place, which seems to serve as a parking lot, there were also some heavy machinery and trucks.
Bitcoin Mining in Venezuela and its Difficulties
The mining of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is not illegal in Venezuela. It is an activity under regulations by the national government through the Superintendency of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (Sunacrip).
Those operators who wish to develop projects for digital mining must apply for the proper permits. When a user meets all the requirements, he needs to start mining. The Superintendence Unit then issues a license that validates the operations of the farm or mining center.
In parallel, the project needs the approval of the national electricity company. This company sets a proper rate for energy consumption. In easier words, Corpoelec intervenes to regulate and oversee the energy that all of these miners consume on their mining farms.
Venezuelan miners are always denouncing a high number of cases of extortion and a lot of other difficulties that they endure to develop such crypto-activities.
By: Jenson Nuñez.
