Mexican authorities seized 300 crypto mining rigs illegally connected to a hydroelectric dam; money laundering investigation underway.
Regulation & Gov ·
Mexican federal prosecutors, the Navy and Puebla state police conducted a raid in Tlaola, a remote municipality in the state's Sierra Norte region, where 300 mining machines were seized along with transformers, medium-voltage terminals and satellite internet equipment. The facility was drawing power illegally from infrastructure connected to the Nuevo Necaxa hydroelectric dam. Authorities described the seized units as graphics processing units, suggesting operation outside Bitcoin mining. While mining itself remains lawful in Mexico, prosecutors are preparing charges related to electricity theft.
State security officials indicated the operation represents part of a larger pattern across the region's remote areas, where energy-intensive mining attracts operators seeking isolated locations with access to power infrastructure. The same pattern has extended to neighboring Tlaxcala, with three additional operations dismantled in 2025. Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission is participating in the investigation, noting non-technical losses from theft and illegal connections totaled 6,346 gigawatt hours between January and July 2024, valued at approximately 13.8 billion pesos.
Forensic accountants are currently tracing funding sources for the hardware. Money laundering has not been excluded as a line of inquiry, and investigators are examining whether assets generated at the site were used to obscure proceeds from criminal activity. The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities still determining the scope of illicit activity across the state and neighboring jurisdictions.