According to local media reports, Paraguayan police have recovered over 300 Bitcoin mining rigs stolen from a local farm. The operation was conducted by the National Anti-Kidnapping Department (DAS).
Paraguay is a landlocked country between Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia. The country has long been famous as a country with low power tariff rates for Bitcoin mining, however, in recent times, the authorities have been concerned regarding increasing illegal mining activities.
Sources reveal that the police investigated after a theft was reported in the Paraguayan province of Alto Paraná last month. The police in their charge sheet had reported that around 492 Bitcoin miners had been stolen from a farm after the manager was attacked and “overpowered” by attackers.
According to the police’s investigation, the DAS raided a commercial property in the town of Presidente Franco this month. Reportedly, the investigation helped the police in recovering approximately 300 mining rigs from the property along with some cellular devices, firearms, and ammunition.
The police have registered multiple charges on the accused individuals including charges and arrest for a man for committing aggravated assault. Additionally, the local media entities published detailed and explicit photographs of their haul, and one of them is presented below.
While the police have successfully recovered 300 mining rigs, 192 are yet to be recovered. The DAS also claimed that the mining rigs had been connected to power outlets and the internet and all 300 rigs were in “full operation.” Reportedly, the DAS immediately proceeded to disconnect and confiscate the spotted mining rigs.
In recent times, Paraguay has become a Bitcoin mining hotspot. Notably, the nation’s surplus of hydroelectric power has attracted many miners in the past few years, particularly Asian pools looking to relocate from China.
However, the increasing activity of miners in the area has been concerning to the authorities. In October, ANDE, the country’s national power administration, announced that the power consumption for the department of Alto Parana had grown immensely and might affect the stability of the national power system
Reportedly, the lawmakers in the country have still appeared to be in support of miners but not the Paraguayan president. In July, the Paraguayan legislature adopted the plan to establish a tax and regulatory framework to enable miners to understand their status while operating in the nation. However, the bill was vetoed by President Mario Abdo Benitez because the activity consumes a lot of electricity and generates very little employment.
Then, in October, thirty-three senators voted to overturn the President’s veto and to regulate the industry, which otherwise was operating in the legal gray area. Following this, in December, Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies, i.e., the lower house of the parliament, voted against the bill, thus putting it in the archives.