Two men in Heilongjiang illegally tapped into oil field high-voltage lines for Bitcoin mining, with the main culprit sentenced to 10 years in prison

ChainCatcher message. According to a report by China News Weekly, the People’s Court of Honggang District in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, recently released a judgment of first instance. Two men were sentenced for theft after illegally tapping into the oilfield’s high-voltage power lines to steal electricity for Bitcoin mining. For the crime of theft, the principal offender, Zhang, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and fined RMB 50k; the accomplice, Zhao, was sentenced to 4 years and 10 months’ imprisonment and fined RMB 20k.

According to the judgment, in September 2024, Zhang illegally connected to the high-voltage power lines of an oilfield in a Daqing oil production plant, and set up 24 Bitcoin mining machines inside a pigsty that he rented and that had been abandoned. In December of the same year, Zhao joined in despite knowing that Zhang was stealing electricity, and additionally purchased 12 mining machines. Together, the two operated a total of 36 mining machines. In August 2025, the two were apprehended by public security authorities.

After calculation, Zhang stole 565,375.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity, valued at RMB 438,580.52; Zhao stole 468,060 kilowatt-hours of electricity, valued at RMB 363,750.78. The court held that both defendants committed the crime of theft: Zhang was the principal offender, and Zhao was the accomplice. The court also ordered Zhang to refund 438,580.52 yuan; Zhao bears joint responsibility for refunding 363,750.78 yuan. The mining machines involved in the case and related equipment were handled by the public security authorities in accordance with law.