Mexico Raises Alarm Amidsecured Crypto‑Mining Operations Powered Illegally from Hydro‑Dam Infrastructure
In brief
- Mexican federal prosecutors, the Navy and Puebla state police raided a property in Tlaola within the remote Sierra Norte region.
- During the operation, authorities recovered approximately three hundred cryptocurrency mining rigs.
- The seized equipment remained connected to a hydraulic complex supplying power through the Nuevo Necaxa dam without proper authorization.
A state security spokesperson announced the action on Sunday, stating that the raid involved the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Navy, and Puebla state police as part of a coordinated anti‑theft effort.
Beyond the dismantled mining farms, investigators confiscated auxiliary infrastructure—transformers, medium‑voltage terminals, and satellite internet antennas—evidently supporting continuous cryptographic work.
| Forensic accountants are now analyzing the financial flows that funded the hardware, following reports in local media and a preliminary assessment by state government officials regarding possible involvement in proceeds of crime. | |
| The utility agency recorded non‑technical damages stemming from theft, meter fraud and clandestine power draws totaling 6,346 gigawatt‑hours between January and July 2024—equivalent to roughly 13.8 billion pesos (about US$817 million). | |
| Similar coercive operations targeted additional sites across the state and neighboring Tlaxcala during 2025, including a farming facility discovered the previous year that was allegedly operated out of unions’ electrical worker housing. | |
| International parallels are growing; a Malaysian authority recently seized more than 75,000 units linked to a power‑theft case valued at US$1.1 billion, and Brazilian law enforcement halted an illegal operation in Rio de Janeiro last year. |
