On September 19, Venezuelan law enforcement agencies seized several dozen ASIC miners and a huge weapons warehouse as a result of an assault on the Tocoron prison in the city of Maracay. France24 reports this.
More than 11,000 police and soldiers took part in the large-scale operation, supported by tanks and armored vehicles. One special forces officer was killed.
For several years, the prison was under the control of the country’s largest gang, Tren de Aragua, and served as its headquarters.
In addition to the cryptocurrency mining room, the territory included a casino, a nightclub, restaurants, a baseball field and a zoo with exotic animals. The latter died due to a fire that started during the assault.
According to the Venezuelan Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1,600 prisoners were enslaved by gang leaders. After seizing control of the prison, some of them managed to escape; the rest were distributed to other correctional institutions.
Among the items seized, authorities showed rocket launchers, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, explosives, machine gun belts, drugs and expensive motorcycles.
The Tren de Aragua gang has about 5,000 members. She has been implicated in crimes throughout Venezuela, as well as in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia.
Let us recall that at the end of June, the Malaysian electricity supplier Sarawak Energy identified a mining farm on the island of Borneo, the owners of which were engaged in illegal mining of cryptocurrencies.
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