Marijuana, Ketamine ... And Bitcoin Mining Farm? Chilean Drug Raid Uncovers Crypto Surprise

In a twist to a routine drug raid in Chile, police officers stumbled upon a sophisticated Bitcoin BTC/USD mining setup.

What Happened: The Anti-Narcotics Brigade for Santiago's Metropolitan Region Southern Area Law enforcement discovered and seized 36 kilos of marijuana, a printing press for ecstasy pills, 43 grams of ketamine, and an unexpected computer set up during a Sept. 6 drug bust, reported Decrypt.

In one of the rooms on the property, the police discovered a series of interconnected machines, emitting substantial amounts of heat and noise.

The country's Cybercrime Brigade confirmed that it was a Bitcoin mining operation. Eduardo Gatica, head of the Anti-Narcotics Brigade, described the find as an “unprecedented event,” noting that “this is the first time drug trafficking has been linked so directly to cryptocurrency mining.”

Bitcoin mining, a key part of the cryptocurrency network, entails the use of specialized computers known as ASICs. These machines compete on a global scale to find a specific random number, with one computer finding the number and adding the newest block of transactions to the Bitcoin blockchain every ten minutes on average.

See Also: Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Are Popping Today?

As per the local media outlet El Mostrador, the police seized 19 of the mining machines, with only 10 being operational. Luis Orellana, Chief of Santiago's Cyber Crime Unit, explained that the local electrical grid could not support all 19 machines mining simultaneously.

The authorities suspect that the criminals, now in custody, used the Bitcoin mining operation for money laundering. They believe that the profits from drug trafficking were used to purchase the mining machines, which were then used to convert Chilean pesos into BTC.

Prosecutor Carlos Yáñez Díaz of the Metropolitan Region's High Complexity and Organized Crime Office described the connection between the illicit activities and Bitcoin mining as a “novel method.”

Why It Matters: The incident underscores the growing trend of criminals leveraging cryptocurrencies for money laundering. As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, it’s essential for law enforcement agencies worldwide to adapt and develop strategies to combat these new methods of illicit activities.

Photo via Shutterstock

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