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BTC Hidden mine in the Puebla Mountains exposed: Gangsters use cryptocurrency mining to launder illegal funds
Core points:
- Mexican police seized 300 graphics processing units (GPUs) and 80 digital terminals in a hidden cryptocurrency mine in Puebla state.
- The total global illegal cryptocurrency transactions will exceed US$154 billion in 2025, more than double that in 2024.
- Gangsters are increasingly targeting cheap or stolen electricity to reduce costs and expand mining.
- The current cost of mining a bitcoin is close to US$45,000, but there is still huge profit margin at the current coin price.
Hidden mines discovered in the Puebla Mountains
According to blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, in Latin America, cryptocurrency mining is gradually evolving into a tool for organized crime. Mexican authorities recently discovered a suspected illegal cryptocurrency mine in the mountainous Tlaola area of Puebla state and seized hundreds of graphics processors, medium-voltage terminals and satellite dishes.
The operation, the fourth similar case discovered in the region since early 2025, reveals a growing pattern of criminal groups using virtual asset mining for profit. The mine is hidden in the lush and remote mountains of the Sierra Norte region in northern Puebla. A total of 300 graphics processors, 80 mid-voltage terminals and eight satellite antennas were found on site.
These devices are used to compete globally with other machines to generate new digital currencies by solving complex algorithmic puzzles. Officials are investigating whether the operating entity stole electricity from a nearby hydroelectric plant to power its equipment. Security analyst David Saucedo said the operation showed that "drug cartels have reached a new level of sophistication." He points out that only groups as well-funded as Mexico's main gangs can support such a vast infrastructure. Mexico's federal prosecutor's office declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
Residents living nearby told media that they could hear the hum of machinery from a kilometer away. The cryptocurrency mine is about twice that distance from the nearest village. Last year, three other similar stations were discovered near the same hydropower station. Local authorities are now working with neighboring states to check whether there are hidden mining operations nearby.
Gangsters use cryptocurrency mining to launder illegal funds
According to Chainalysis, the global volume of illegal cryptocurrency transactions will surge in 2025, reaching approximately US$154 billion, several times the previous year's US$59 billion. The company attributed most of this significant increase to an increase in transactions related to sanctions evasion, including payments related to sanctioned governments and their networks.
Caio Motta, a Latin American expert at Chainalysis, said gangs often target areas where electricity is cheap or affected by organized crime. This allows criminal groups to directly steal electricity and build large cryptocurrency mining infrastructures at extremely low cost. Electricity remains the largest expenditure in cryptocurrency mining, and energy prices continue to rise every year. The University of Cambridge's Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index shows that the cost of minting a Bitcoin is close to $45,000. At the current price level of about US$78,000 per coin, operators still have broad profit margins.
Similar cryptocurrency mining raids have occurred in Brazil, the United States and Southeast Asia, including large-scale operations in five provinces of Thailand. Mota expects that as virtual currencies become more accessible globally, cryptocurrency-related crimes will continue to rise. Still, he said law enforcement agencies 'ability to track and disrupt these illegal networks was steadily improving.
