Mexican authorities have seized more than 1,000 cryptocurrency mining rigs from a hidden computing facility in rural Puebla that investigators believe was being used by cartel operatives to launder money and fund their operations.
The investigation began earlier this month after authorities noticed unusually large energy draws coming from a rural stretch of the central Mexican state. Drone flyovers ordered by Mexico’s National Security Cabinet confirmed a large-scale mining and crypto-moving operation was hidden at the site.
A first raid last week netted 300 graphics processing units, 80 medium voltage terminals and eight satellite antennas. A second search this week, at the same location, turned up roughly 900 additional GPUs along with more antennas and assorted electronic and communications gear.
Mexican officials say this marks the fourth such crypto farm uncovered in Central Mexico since last year, and all four have been found near a hydroelectric dam in northern Puebla. That location suggests operators were tapping directly into the dam’s power supply to conceal the enormous electricity consumption needed to run the equipment.
Authorities view the pattern as evidence that cartels are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency and technical infrastructure to move money in ways that are harder for law enforcement to trace. Officials have also linked the use of crypto to semi-anonymous payments sent to China for drug precursor chemicals used in producing methamphetamine and fentanyl.
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