Armed foreign illegal miners arrested in Thong Pha Phum gold-digging raid
Authorities arrest four armed foreign nationals illegally mining gold in Thong Pha Phum after night-time surveillance detected a group entering the forest
A brazen illegal mining gang has been caught secretly digging for gold in Thong Pha Phum district, Kanchanaburi, with soldiers and police raiding the site and arresting four armed foreign nationals.
The Thong Pha Phum National Park chief, Yutthapong Damsrisuk, said officers acted under the directive of Suchart Chomklin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, who ordered the park to work with Border Patrol Police (BPP), military units and district authorities to set up joint checkpoints, intensify patrols and prevent the ongoing illegal gold-digging activities inside the national park. He also instructed strict enforcement of the law.
On November 15, Thong Pha Phum National Park launched a coordinated operation with troops from the Lad Ya Special Task Force under the Surasi Task Force, led by district chief Chakrit Tanpirun, who heads the working group on illegal gold mining. The mission aimed to suppress forest encroachment in Thong Pha Phum district.
The operation targeted Pilok Ki forest, Village 4, Pilok subdistrict — a 1A watershed zone and a site previously linked to illegal gold panning cases.
Officers had earlier installed CCTV cameras to monitor the encroached area around the clock. At around 22:00, the cameras detected a group of about 15 suspects, armed with both short and long firearms, entering the forest to illegally dig for gold.
At 23:30, the team moved in and sealed off the area, identifying themselves and ordering the group to stop. The suspects fled into the darkness, using their familiarity with the terrain.
Authorities managed to arrest four suspects at the scene — all foreign nationals of Myanmar nationality or Karen ethnicity, none of whom held legal registration status:
- Aw (no surname), Myanmar national, 35
- Aung, Myanmar national, 30
- Jor Lae (no surname), Myanmar national, 44
- Tu La (no surname), Karen ethnicity, 45 (claimed residence in Pilok Ki)
Officials also found a wallet containing Myanmar citizenship cards belonging to five fleeing suspects.
A total of 40 items used in the illegal operation were seized, including:
• Gold-digging tools: iron crowbars, chisels, sledgehammers, short-handled hoes and gold-panning trays
• Firearms: 1 homemade .22LR rifle with 10 rounds of ammunition
• Communication devices & personal items: 9 mobile phones, 2 radios, 11 head torches, 9 hammocks and a quantity of Myanmar kyat
The suspects face multiple serious charges under Thailand’s forestry laws, including illegal encroachment, clearing and destruction of forest land and unlawful occupation, under the Forest Act 1941, National Reserved Forest Act 1964, and National Park Act 2019, as well as firearms-related offences.
Authorities have prepared arrest reports and collected all relevant evidence before handing the four suspects over to investigators at Pilok Police Station for legal proceedings. Efforts to track and arrest the remaining suspects are under way.
Thong Pha Phum National Park chief Yutthapong stressed that strict enforcement will continue:
“Thong Pha Phum National Park will enforce the law rigorously to protect our vital watershed forests. We will work with every agency to stop all forms of natural-resource encroachment.”
