Two thieves were apprehended in China for swapping high-end GPUs at an esports hotel. The suspects targeted rooms featuring RTX 5080 and 5070 rigs, replacing them with lower-end RTX 3060 units. A July 18 power outage led to their capture by local police.
After the outage, an electrician found pry marks on PC cases when the thieves requested a room change. Management discovered two RTX 3060s instead of the original RTX 5080s. Police used registration details to trace the suspects to a local computer district.
The suspects admitted to four previous swaps, selling stolen hardware for half its market value. Total losses reached 80,000 Yuan, or $12,000. With RTX 5080s costing $1,400 and RTX 3060s only $400, the scheme caused significant financial damage to the hotel.