‘New level of sophistication’: Hidden crypto farm discovered in remote Mexican mountains

Tlaola, Mexico: Few people had reason to wander close enough to hear the loud, mechanical whirring of a clandestine cryptocurrency farm nestled in the lush green mountains of central Mexico, next to a sparsely travelled gravel road.

What led police to the ramshackle building, suspected of mining virtual coins to launder illicit funds, was not only the noise but the vast amount of electricity needed to power and cool hundreds of specialised computing units, at levels far surpassing the needs of the small communities scattered around the Sierra Norte region of Puebla state.

Crypto mining — which uses powerful computers to generate virtual assets such as bitcoin — represents a new frontier in Mexico’s fight against organised criminal groups, which have extended their reach beyond drug trafficking and extortion into the murkier realm of financial crime.

In Puebla, authorities discovered 300 graphics processing units (GPUs), 80 medium-voltage terminals and eight satellite antennae — all geared to compete against millions of other machines to solve puzzles and create valuable new crypto coins.

While a relatively modest operation by international commercial standards, it is the fourth such crypto farm uncovered in the area since early last year.