Rio police find crypto mining farm using stolen power

A police operation targeting an operational nucleus of Comando Vermelho uncovered a crypto-mining setup of about 30 computers on an apparently abandoned lot in Complexo do Lins. The machines were arranged on shelves in a single room and connected to the power grid through a clandestine tap on a nearby utility pole. Authorities seized the hardware during the operation.

The machines featured high-capacity fans, exhaust systems and remote-monitoring equipment, consistent with continuous mining operations. The site was located in an area where armed groups exert control.

Investigators are probing links to Comando Vermelho and whether any mining proceeds were routed into faction finances or used for money laundering. Authorities have not disclosed the type of mining hardware, the cryptocurrency mined, the machines’ hash rate or whether any digital wallets have been identified.

Using a conservative estimate of 1.5 kilowatts per machine, 30 computers would draw about 45 kilowatts and consume roughly 32,400 kilowatt-hours per month. At an assumed rate of $0.20 per kilowatt-hour, that equals about $6,480 in avoided monthly electricity costs if power was taken without payment.

Brazil’s electricity regulator reported that energy theft and other non-technical losses cost the country about $2 billion in 2024, with Rio de Janeiro among the states recording high levels of power theft. Federal authorities reported seizing about $14 million in cryptocurrency in 2025 and earlier this year executed a national operation that deployed search-and-seizure and arrest warrants focused on drug trafficking, criminal factions and money laundering.

Investigators have seized the equipment and are following financial trails while examining hardware procurement, the method of the power tap and whether the site was part of a wider network. Forensic analysis of the seized machines and related records is ongoing.