Mae sot: Security forces in Mae Sot district seized 20,000 liters of fuel parked in a prohibited area along the Moei River. They were astonished to find a small warehouse-like storage facility containing equipment for storing the fuel, suggesting it was intended for smuggling across the border to a neighboring country. The truck driver has been taken into custody for further investigation.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Kantapong Pipatmontrikul, the Mae Sot District Chief, along with soldiers from the Rajamanu Task Force, Mae Sot Customs officials, Mae Sot Police Station officers, a rapid response team, the Mae Sot District Volunteer Defense Corps Company 3, and other relevant parties, inspected a warehouse in Moo 3, Ban Tha At, Tha Sai Luat Subdistrict, after villagers reported seeing a large oil tanker truck parked in a secluded area near the banks of the Moei River, where there are no gas stations.
Authorities conducted an inspection and found a large 10-wheel truck carrying 20,000 liters of diesel fuel. Inside the warehouse were two 4,500-liter storage tanks, as well as 101 additional tanks (300-liter and 200-liter), and 85 30-liter fuel jerrycans. The authorities seized all the evidence and took the truck driver in for questioning.
In the five border districts of Tak province, residents are currently experiencing hardship due to a shortage of fuel at gas stations. This is especially true in Mae Sot district, where long queues of vehicles extending onto the roads at every gas station have formed, and fuel ran out within a few hours, causing widespread disruption.
Governor Chusak Rueying of Tak Province has ordered all officials in every district to urgently prevent and suppress the illegal smuggling of oil.