Joint police and military forces along the Thai-Myanmar border have been apprehending an increasing number of people trying to smuggle fuel out of Thailand, since the fuel supply ban was introduced last week.
In Tak’s Mae Sot district, acting on a tip-off, authorities searched a cargo truck near the second Friendship Bridge, discovering several litres of fuel in tanks, hidden inside the vehicle.
The Burmese driver said he had purchased the fuel for 8,000 baht to resell in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, in Kanchanaburi’s Sangkhla district, officers at a checkpoint in Viakaty village stopped a vehicle and confiscated 300 litres of diesel in containers, which were concealed under groceries.
The driver, identified as ‘Samrit’, 38, said that he intended to smuggle the diesel into Myanmar, for generators used in temples, schools and shops there.
An official in Tak province revealed that, since the fuel ban has been in effect, the number of Myanmar-registered vehicles coming and going across the border has increased from 600 to about 1,000 per day.
Meanwhile, a newly issued measure, prohibiting filling stations from selling fuel in containers, is also having an impact on Thais.
Phop Sae Wan, a farmer in Mae Ramat district in Tak, said that he previously bought fuel in containers for his water pumps and tractors but, due to the new restrictions, gas stations are now refusing to sell to him, forcing him to search for an alternative source.
