Navy seizes 1,032 crypto mining rigs in Tlaola and probes their power supply

The Mexican Navy (Secretaría de Marina) seized 1,032 pieces of equipment believed to be used for crypto mining at a property in Tlaola, in the Sierra Norte of Puebla, during a raid carried out on September 11, 2026, and the investigation now seeks to establish where the electricity that powered the installation came from.

The final count updated the preliminary report of September 6, when state authorities reported around 300 devices at the same property, according to Animal Político. Aristegui Noticias specified that both figures refer to the same property and not to a second farm. The raid was carried out in coordination with the Attorney General's Office (FGR), the Public Security Secretariat of Puebla and the municipal police of Huauchinango, following intelligence work that included reconnaissance flights with drones. The property, surrounded by vegetation, sits on the site known as El beneficio, roughly 125 kilometers in a straight line from the state capital of Puebla, according to Excélsior. Unmetered high-power loads are an overload factor that distribution substations do not anticipate, and they represent unbilled energy on the grid.

Beyond the equipment, Excélsior reported the seizure of 95 switches, three satellite antennas, one microwave antenna and five transformers of different capacities, along with power conductor cable, an 80-liter air compressor, a shotgun and 12 .410 caliber cartridges. No detentions were reported. Uno TV reported that the investigation is focused on determining how the property was supplied with electricity and whether irregular connections existed to draw power from the grid of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE); crypto mining is not in itself the crime being pursued. Investigators are also trying to establish who ran the complex, what its operating capacity was and where the virtual assets it generated ended up.

The Attorney General's Office continues its investigation to determine possible responsibilities, while the Public Security Secretariat of Puebla has asked whether there were omissions on the part of the municipal authorities of Tlaola. The point to watch is whether the investigation confirms an irregular connection to the grid and, with it, a figure for unbilled energy.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.