A court in Daqing, Heilongjiang, has sentenced two men after they used an abandoned pig pen to run 36 Bitcoin mining machines powered by an illegally tapped high-voltage line from a nearby oil production facility. Reports said the stolen electricity exceeded 1 million kWh. The two defendants, identified as Zhang and Zhao, received prison terms of 10 years and 4 years 10 months, for a combined sentence of 14 years and 10 months.
Abandoned livestock site turned into a hidden mining operation
According to the report, the case began in the autumn of 2024. Zhang rented an unused pig pen inside a slaughterhouse property near the Daqing oilfield and converted the space into a covert mining site. He moved in 24 Bitcoin mining rigs and secretly connected the setup to a high-voltage line serving a neighboring oil extraction plant, shifting the electricity cost away from himself.
Roughly three months later, Zhao joined the operation and paid for additional machines, which were placed in the same location. After both men completed the setup, the site contained 36 mining rigs running at the same time. The electricity consumed by the machines continued to come from the illegally connected power source.
Court records detail power theft and losses
The judgment disclosed the breakdown for each defendant. Zhang was tied to 565,375.2 kWh of stolen electricity, equal to 438,580.52 yuan in power costs under local rates. Zhao, who entered later, was linked to 468,060 kWh, corresponding to 363,750.78 yuan. Combined, the stolen electricity topped 1 million kWh, and the unpaid power bill exceeded 800,000 yuan.
The illegal mining activity was uncovered in August 2025, when police traced the operation and arrested both men. The report said the Honggang District People's Court convicted them of theft. Zhang received the heavier sentence because he started earlier and was responsible for the larger volume of stolen electricity, while Zhao was given a shorter term after joining later.
Illegal mining cases continue after China's 2021 ban
The report also noted that China imposed a full ban on cryptocurrency mining in 2021, yet cases tied to stolen electricity still surface from time to time. In this case, the use of a remote abandoned pig pen and an unauthorized high-voltage connection showed how mining activity can be concealed even after the ban.