Myanmar national arrested over fuel smuggling in Kanchanaburi
A Myanmar national was arrested in Kanchanaburi‘s Sangkhla Buri district yesterday, March 9, in an alleged fuel smuggling attempt after he was found transporting 120 litres of fuel for illegal sale across the border into Myanmar.
Sangkhla Buri district chief Suriyasak Muean-uam was notified at 9.20pm that officers had detained a Myanmar man in the Ban Phra Chedi Sam Ong area of Nong Lu subdistrict.
The suspect was stopped while travelling on a saleng (a motorcycle with an attached sidecar) with no registration plate.
The vehicle was reportedly carrying four fuel containers, each holding 30 litres, for a total of 120 litres. The fuel was allegedly intended to be sold in Myanmar in breach of Thai law.
The suspect was handed over to investigators at Sangkhla Buri Police Station for legal proceedings, with officers also instructed to expand the investigation to identify where the fuel was bought and who it was to be sold to.
Earlier yesterday at 1.30pm, the district chief met fuel station operators in Sangkhla Buri to set measures to limit disruption to fuel use and daily life, and to curb fuel being smuggled out of Thailand.
Officials will be stationed at petrol stations to assist customers, and cars will be limited to refuelling up to 1,000 baht per visit.
Anyone wanting to fill fuel into containers must first get authorisation from the administrative officer at the petrol station, and approval will be granted only in urgent and necessary cases.
Residents who need fuel for agricultural machinery or community fuel pumps were told to notify the district officer on site, while government agencies requiring fuel must seek district permission and use fuel only as necessary, with hoarding prohibited.
The district said it would prosecute anyone involved in smuggling fuel out of Thailand, including those who transport it and those who support border crossings.
It added that the penalty is imprisonment for up to one month, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both, and that anyone storing more than 40 litres without permission will be prosecuted with no exceptions.
Security officials said Payathonzu in Myanmar is currently facing fuel shortages after officials did not allow fuel to be transported into the area.
CH7 News reported that all three petrol stations in Payathonzu have been without fuel for two to three days, pushing prices up to 80 baht per litre and increasing attempts to smuggle fuel from Sangkhla Buri for profit.
Similarly, last year, a Thai man was apprehended for attempting to smuggle 290 litres of diesel fuel across the Thai-Myanmar border to Payathonzu, claiming it was intended for his mother-in-law without seeking payment.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News:
