Songkhla orders probe after 100,000 litres of diesel found
Officials in Songkhla found 100,000 litres of diesel stored at a company’s international truck yard in Sadao district yesterday, April 4, after no documents were produced to back earlier claims that the site had a valid fuel storage permit.
The case emerged after social media posts alleged that a Malaysian transport operator with a trailer yard for cross-border runs between Thailand and Malaysia had stockpiled a large amount of fuel.
Officials in the area inspected the site and alerted administrative officials and police, whose representatives initially said the company owner held a valid permit to store fuel.
After receiving the report, Songkhla governor Rattasat Chidchu ordered a wider inspection involving the provincial energy office, the Sadao district office, Sadao police, Customs, Excise and the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division Region 9.
Officials then searched an international truck parking yard owned by a Chinese Malaysian businessman who had set up a company in Sadao district, Songkhla.
They found 100,000 litres of diesel stored at the site, including 50,000 litres in underground tanks and 35,000 litres in above-ground tanks.
When officials asked the person in charge of the premises to produce supporting documents, no evidence was shown to confirm legal permission for the fuel storage.
Khaosod reported that the company also could not show where the diesel had come from or which supplier had sold it.
Police from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division Region 9 then filed charges against the person overseeing the company and the company owner.
The Department of Energy Business collected fuel samples for testing. If the fuel does not meet quality standards set by the department’s director-general, the company will face further legal action.
Further investigation found that the company had instructed all of its tractor units to fill up in Malaysia before that country announced a fuel price increase, then transfer the fuel into storage tanks for use in the company’s transport business.
Logistics firms owned by Chinese Malaysians in Sadao district and Hat Yai district commonly use a similar method. Investigators believe the fuel was smuggled in from Malaysia and stored in underground and above-ground tanks.
The alleged offence reportedly goes beyond operating without a fuel storage permit, as the company could also face accusations of possessing smuggled fuel on which import tax had not been paid. Songkhla officials are now expected to inspect logistics companies across the province.
In a separate incident, a suspected fuel smuggling case was uncovered off Sattahip, Chon Buri, after the Royal Thai Navy and multiple agencies inspected a tugboat and found 85,000 litres of diesel with no clear origin.
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