Bitcoin is not only the most prominent and valuable digital asset, but also, it represents an attractive investment for nearly everybody from entrepreneurs to regular people with some funds they want to preserve. However, when the ambition crosses the line and evolves into criminal activity, innocent people are always at risk of losing their prized belongings.
In this case, more than a few BTC were initially lost. It happened a few days ago in Malaysia: law enforcement agencies and the local police worked to arrest five individuals accused of stealing a total of 85 Bitcoin machines that were worth approximately RM 42,500 from a warehouse.
There were four men and one woman involved in the crime, according to reports coming from the Asian country. Seremban police Supt Mohd Said Ibrahim stated that every person with direct involvement in the robbery is now arrested; he informed that they were taken into custody in separate raids in Seremban and Nilai. Two of the people now waiting for justice to be done are Indonesian.
They Rented the Building Next to the Warehouse
The Sun Daily, a Malaysian publication, reported that the group of thieves rented a building located next to the one guarding the bitcoin machines and proceeded to drill through the concrete wall that connected the two establishments. It has been speculated that the machines, which were worth $10,300 each when converted to dollars, were bitcoin mining rigs, but that version is still unofficial.
The police corps took a vehicle as evidence, as well as the heavy-duty equipment to drill through concrete. The thieves used them to gain access to the warehouse where the Bitcoin machines were stored.
“On Oct 29, a shopkeeper lodged a police report following the missing of 85 Bitcoin machines. Subsequently, police conducted raids and arrested suspects, aged between 25 and 46 years,” the superintendent said in a press conference to explain what happened that night. The events are now a hot discussion topic in the nation and in neighbor countries. Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, are growing in popularity in Asia.
Monitoring the Movement of the Machines
Mohd Said Ibrahim talked at length about the origins and backgrounds of the alleged criminals. He said that “some of the suspects were working as traders and construction workers while others were unemployed.”
Said Ibrahim observed that “the purpose of the rent was to monitor the movement of the machines, and their motive for stealing was believed to handle the machines themselves.” It sure sounds like the thieves had everything figured out, but the police and the authorities in general stopped their plans.
The piece of news came as a shock to many; since any member of the group had a criminal record prior to what happened with the Bitcoin machines. Mohd Said also informed that the suspects were all friends, and that they are now being investigated under Section 457 of the Penal Code.
By Andres Chavez
