Bitcoin mine uncovered during Black Country industrial unit raid that was stealing thousands of pounds worth of electricity from the mains supply.Source: West Midlands Police
LONDON — An illegal bitcoin mine has been found by police in the U.K. who were looking for a cannabis farm.
The mine — located in an industrial unit on the outskirts of the English city of Birmingham — was stealing thousands of pounds worth of electricity from the mains supply, West Midlands Police said Thursday.
Police searched the unit in Sandwell on May 18 on the back of intelligence that led them to believe it was being used as a cannabis farm.
Lots of people were visiting the unit at various points of the day, police said, adding there was lots of wiring and ventilation ducts visible A police drone also detected a lot of heat coming from the building.
These are all “classic signs” of a cannabis farm, police said. However, officers found a bank of around 100 computers and zero cannabis on entering the building.
“It’s certainly not what we were expecting,” Jennifer Griffin, Sandwell police sergeant, said in a statement. “It had all the hallmarks of a cannabis cultivation set-up and I believe it’s only the second
