Overview
- Officials say roughly 14,000 illicit sites have been identified since 2020, with state utility TNB estimating about $1.1 billion in stolen electricity.
- Formed on Nov. 19, the cross‑agency committee includes the Finance Ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia and TNB to coordinate enforcement.
- Drones sweep for heat signatures while ground teams use handheld detectors, aided by resident tip‑offs, as miners rotate locations and install heat shields, CCTV and noise masking.
- Authorities report nearly 2,400 operations were shut in 2024, and warn that tampered lines and overloads risk damaging transformers and disrupting local supply.
- Thai investigators this week seized 3,642 rigs worth about $8.6 million and linked the mines to transnational scam networks, reinforcing Malaysia’s push for tighter controls such as smarter metering and possible restrictions.