Nakhon Pathom: Special Forces seize 69 tonnes of illegal pork

The Special Forces unit of Phraya Nakhon Ratchasima seized 69 tonnes of illegal pork yesterday, January 5, and more than half of the transportation permits were found to be counterfeit.

Thanadol Suwannarath, the deputy commander of the unit, disclosed that the raid took place in a cold storage facility in Nakhon Pathom province following a tip-off. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, assisted by the Special Forces, had received information indicating the smuggling of illegal livestock products into Tha Kham, Sam Phran District, Nakhon Pathom.

The Special Forces unit kept surveillance on the area from dusk on January 4, through to yesterday morning, January 5. During their investigation at three locations, they discovered a company in Tha Kham, Sam Phran District, Nakhon Pathom, storing 69 tonnes of frozen pork. This included 22 tonnes of three-layer pork of unknown origin and another 47 tonnes accompanied by counterfeit pig carcass transportation permits. The officials have seized the pork and are taking legal action for the violation of Section 22 of the Animal Epidemic Act, B.E. 2558 (2015), committed by the company.

In the next steps, the Special Forces unit will hold the 69 tonnes of evidence for 15 days, allowing the business operator to prove its legitimacy. They will also report the violation and continue the investigation to trace the source of the pork, reported KhaoSod.

The operation involving the Special Forces unit included over 30 officers from the National Police Office, the Department of Livestock Development, and the Department of Fisheries, who were checking various suspicious areas in Nakhon Pathom province.

The owner of the company, 54 year old Siriporn (surname withheld), revealed that the fake pig transportation permits were due to a supplier who brought three-layer raw materials for sale to the company along with transportation document R.3.

Upon inspection, it was found that the barcode did not match the reference number used to deliver the pork, resulting in the supplier who brought the pork to the company being incorrect.