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Police in Adelaide, Australia raided the home of Rob Butvila expecting to find a marijuana grow room, but instead they found an elaborate crypto mining set up, complete with a ventilation system to keep heat the miners generate at bay.
Butvila is now considering taking legal action against the local police department after they left the man’s home in shambles and are refusing to respond to requests to help with damages.
Police Destroy Man’s Home In Search for Drugs, Discover Crypto Miners Instead
Police and other government agencies use a number of tactics to sniff out marijuana growing operations, both at large scale and even in individual’s homes. These tactics can include using an infrared heat detector to locate potential light sources emitting heat, watching out for skyrocketing energy bills, or searching for ventilation systems that allow airflow around marijuana plants and help to contain strong odors emanating from grow rooms.
Unfortunately, for crypto enthusiasts, an advanced crypto mining setup can also cause an increase in heat, energy consumption, and a need for complex ventilation that could be mistaken for a grow operation, as Rob Butvila of Adelaide, Australia found out the hard way.
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Butvila’s home was raided by the South Australia Police (SAPOL) force over suspicions the home was actually a front for a grow operation. Butvila claims that he arrived home to find everything from “gates, doors and fence panels removed and broke,” so police could forcefully gain entry to the home.
“To make things worse they left the place wide open and a hard drive is now missing and the security camera cable has been cut,” he explained, continuing that “it would be at least [in] $1000 damage.”
Crypto Mining Confusion: YouTube Video Demonstrates Damage Done to Home
Butvila shared a video walkthrough of his home on Youtube that clearly shows broken doors and other damage, yet no grow room – only a rather small crypto mining setup.
A spokeswoman for SAPOL concluded that no evidence of any wrongdoing was discovered on the premises and that a note was “left for the owner to contract police,” who have yet to issue an apology.
Related Reading | Tools of the Trade: Monero and Privacy Coins Are Creating More Efficient Criminals
Police, according to Butvila, have also ignored inquiries about who would be responsible for the damages to his property during the mistaken raid, and even hung up when he called pressing for more information.
Butvila is considering legal action if the police don’t respond to quotes he’s received on what the damages would cost to repair, in order to restore his home and crypto mining setup to the condition it was in before the SOPAL raid.
Images from Shutterstock
