Mexican authorities have seized a cryptocurrency mining facility in Puebla state as part of an investigation into suspected electricity theft and money laundering.. The facility was located in Tlaola, in the mountainous Sierra Norte region. A search on September 11 yielded 1,032 suspected cryptocurrency mining units, according to local reports citing Mexico’s Navy..
That figure is an update on the initial estimate of around 300 GPUs disclosed by Puebla’s state government on September 6. The Navy clarified that the larger inventory came from the same property.. The Sierra Norte mountains were hiding a cryptomine – Getty Images.
The subsequent search also recovered 95 network switches, five transformers, three satellite antennas, a microwave antenna and power cabling. A shotgun and ammunition were also seized.. The site was identified through joint intelligence work involving the Navy, Puebla state police and municipal authorities, including reconnaissance flights using drones.
An inspection on September 3 had already identified equipment consistent with cryptocurrency mining, before the September 11 search was carried out with the federal attorney general’s office (FGR).. Puebla’s government said investigators were examining whether digital assets generated at the facility had been used to disguise the origin of proceeds from illegal activities.
The property and equipment were placed in authorities’ custody.. According to Reuters, officials were investigating whether the mine had been stealing electricity from a nearby hydroelectric dam. The report identified it as the fourth such mining operation uncovered in the area since early 2025..
David Saucedo, a Mexico-based security analyst, told Reuters that the technical expertise and funding required suggested backing from a well-financed group, such as a major cartel.. Investigators were still working to establish who operated the facility, its capacity, the origin of its electricity supply and the destination of any cryptocurrency generated.
No arrests were reported following the September 11 search.. Electricity theft has featured in other recent cryptomining investigations. In July, a fire exposed a suspected illegal Bitcoin mine in Thailand, where officials reportedly found wiring used to bypass the electricity meter.
That discovery followed a separate raid near Bangkok on another operation accused of stealing electricity.. More in Latin America. 29 Jun 2026.
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