According to TechFlow, on September 26, the government of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, announced that local law enforcement agencies and energy officials have teamed up to crack down on illegal cryptocurrency mining activities and discovered an underground mining site in the capital Makhachkala.

According to a message released by the Minister of the Cabinet of Dagestan via Telegram, law enforcement officers found 17 cryptocurrency mining equipment several meters underground in the Sergokalinsky district of Makhachkala. Illegal miners set up underground mines and mobile mining units in many places, causing a fire at the local 110 kV Novaya substation and power outages in some areas for several days.

The government will invest about 3 billion rubles (about 32.5 million U.S. dollars) to repair damaged energy facilities. The Dagestan government is working closely with Dagenergo, the North Caucasus branch of the state-owned electricity supplier Rosseti, to combat illegal mining activities. Dagenergo confirmed that the substation fire was caused by a sharp increase in electricity consumption.