Australian police mistakenly search crypto miner's home suspecting marijuana grow operation

[Rickta]

Australian police mistakenly search crypto miner's home suspecting marijuana grow operation
Officers damaged property and left doors open

 

 

 

 

The cryptocurrency mining boom has died down quite a bit, but a few smaller mining operations are still working away throughout the world.

One such small-scale operation is run by Rob Butvila, a resident of Adelaide, Australia - and it's clear he has done his research.

The setup is seemingly optimized to maximize airflow and keep his mining machines cool (courtesy of an in-depth ventilation system) while they work. Unfortunately for Butvila, it seems his system may have been a bit too good in the end.

In a video uploaded Sunday, Butvila revealed that Adelaide officers working out of the South Australia Police Department had forcefully broken into his home (damaging his property in the process) using a "General" search warrant.

Expecting to find a marijuana grow operation, police instead found Butvila's cryptocurrency mining rigs.

Expecting to find a marijuana grow operation, police instead found Butvila's cryptocurrency mining rigs.

For the unaware, crypto mining setups tend to generate a fair amount of heat and noise, while also gobbling up electricity at a rapid rate. Due to this, they can at times resemble a marijuana grow.

To make matters worse for Butvila, the police department responsible for the break-in was "unhelpful" and hung up on him when he called to request compensation for the damage done to his property.

Butvila also says the officers who searched his property left his gates and doors unlocked, which allegedly allowed a criminal to enter his home and swipe a hard drive (also disabling his security camera).

We'll be keeping our eye on the situation moving forward, and we will update this article if it develops any further.

Source.