Venezuelan authorities arrest four miners of bitcoins on the outskirts of Caracas

During the morning of today, the director of the Corps of Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigations (CICPC) of Venezuela made public knowledge the capture of four Venezuelans who were dedicated to the mining of criptomonedas in that country.
Officials of the Computer Crime Division of that police force detained three men and one woman in the town of Charallave, Miranda state, located approximately one and a half hours from Caracas. The detainees were identified as Néstor Rafael Amundaray Precilla (57), Ana Cecilia Farías Villanueva (25), Kevin David Ojeda Díaz (26), Alberto José Zapata Orta (23). They were accused of engaging in cyber fraud and theft of electric power.
According to a report made on the Instagram account of Cicpc director Douglas Rico, the detainees owned more than 300 Bitmin Antminers miners who, judging by the photographs, appear to be model S4, while others appear to be SP31 / 35 of the deceased company Spoondolies. In addition, the publication argues that the bitcoins generated were exchanged in Cúcuta, Colombia, a border town that has been in the midst of controversy over the economic crisis that Venezuela is going through.
In turn, through the social network Twitter, Cicpc published photographs of the facilities where the mining activity was carried out, as well as the images of those involved in the case.
So far it has not been specified how fraud is being made by mining bitcoins, nor was it specified whether these people paid for the electric power service or if they were stealing it. Likewise, the Venezuelan legal framework does not contemplate any resolution that explicitly considers as a crime the mining of criptomonedas, activity necessary for the confirmation of transactions in the block chains of the bitcoin network.
Previously, similar cases have been reported in Venezuela, although some have not been officially confirmed, for prosecution of miners and Bitcoin users. The tense political and economic situation of the country has led to the adoption of the Cryptomoneda in this country, since Bitcoin offers many freedoms that Venezuelans can not enjoy in an overly controlled economy and in a clear recession. Fear of reprisals that might be suffered.
While there is the possibility of laundering capital through the cryptones, as with any other currency, including the bolivar, Venezuelans are looking for bitcoins to be able to shop in online stores of products that are scarce in the country and are really basic and Essential to meet the minimum living conditions at which they are being sucked today, such as maize flour, milk, baby diapers, butter, soap, detergent, antiperspirants and toothpaste. Not to mention medicines for treatments for multiple diseases, which are not available in the country's dispensaries, something that has raised international alarm and caused many to speak of a humanitarian crisis in process.
To show another utility that Venezuelans can give to Bitcoin, it is open the possibility of buying air tickets with the company Destinia, which accepts payments in bitcoin knowing the difficulties to make payments with credit cards or to get dollars in the country.
It is not the first time that a government institution has persecuted those who carry out mining or use bitcoin, but there have also been unsubstantiated attacks from the official media, which have been opportunely clarified from CryptoNoticias.

The modus operandi of these citizens: through the Internet they had more than 300 miners Aintminers to obtain the Bitcoins to later commercialize them in a commercial electronic page. Then to market them in the Colombian Venezuelan border in Cúcuta, affecting the consumption and the stability of the electric service in the place.
Douglas Rico
Director, Criminal Investigation and Criminal Investigations Corps

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