The police in Malaysia arrested four men and a woman believed to be involved in stealing eighty-five Bitcoin machines worth RM42,500 from a warehouse.

The Sun Daily reported that Seremban police chief Supt Mohd Said Ibrahim said all the suspects, two of whom are Indonesians, had been nabbed in separate raids round Seremban and Nilai between 12 midnight to 4.30am.

Police also seized a vehicle, a four-wheel drive SUV linked to the heist in which the thieves drilled into through concrete wall to access the machines. According to the police chief,

“On Oct 29, a shopkeeper lodged a police report following the missing of 85 Bitcoin machines. Subsequently, police conducted raids and arrested suspects, aged between 25 and 46 years.

“Some of the suspects were working as traders and construction workers while others were unemployed,”

The machines termed “Bitcoin machines” by the authorities are likely mining rigs that cost $10,300 each. Mohd stated said initial investigations showed that the suspects had rented an apartment next to the warehouse the day before they drilled through the wall and carted away the Bitcoin mining machines.

The police believe that the suspects who do not have previous criminal records had rented the adjacent apartment with the intention to monitor the movement of mining machines. 

Drills recovered from them were used to access the warehouse after drilling through the concrete.

Mohd stated, the suspects who were all friends, planned to use the machines themselves even though it is not certain what experience they have in bitcoin extraction. They are being investigated under the section 457 of the Penal Code, according to him.

Featured image: Hamid Bador, Malaysian Police Chief courtesy the Star/Asian News Network