Police have shut down a Bitcoin factory that was allegedly stealing electricity to fund cryptocurrency mining operations in Thailand.

The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) flagged the rented building in Samut Prakan province after the lessee paid only 4,000 THB (93.77 GBP) - despite consuming more than 200,000 THB worth (4688.63 GBP) of power.

MEA officials and police officers, on a search warrant from the Samut Prakan Provincial Court, raided the three-storey building on April 20, and found 50 cryptomining hard drives rigged up on the second and third floors, where the walls were covered in soundproof insulation. There were also several computers found on the first floor.

The machines, said to be controlled remotely via the Internet, have been seized by police as evidence.

THe officers also found that the building had an illegal electric connection with no meter.

Kriangkamon Kallpadee, assistant director of MEA's Electricity User Management Division, said they had discovered a similar case around three months ago, but the suspect escaped with his equipment before the building could be searched.

The MEA had been monitoring the area closely before finding suspicious activity in the same building this month. The agency said it is coordinating with the building's owner to determine the damage caused by the electricity theft, estimated to be millions of baht.

Kriangkamon said: 'The MEA has taken legal action in three cases of electricity theft this year. There are six more cases, but the suspects escaped and have not been caught. We urge them to stop this illegal behaviour because it is causing damage at the national level.'

Bitcoin mining can be profitable on a large scale but high energy consumption can make it unviable.