Phuket —
Officials have launched a coordinated operation to protect public land after discovering illegal encroachment at the Khao Daeng grazing area in Rawai.
The operation, carried out around 12:30 p.m., was directed by Phuket Governor Chotinarin Kerdsom, Deputy Governor Pol. Lt. Col. Khetarat Chansilp, Acting Provincial Clerk Siwatch Rawangkul, and Rawai Mayor Tems Kraitas.
Leading the enforcement team were District Deputy Chief Akkara Suwattikul and Deputy District Officer Thiti Boonyasthian, supported by members of the territorial defense volunteer corps, Rawai municipal staff, officers from Chalong Police Station, and forest protection officials from Unit Phang Nga 2 (Phuket). Together, they inspected land registered as public property (Nor Sor Lor No. 29883), designated for communal use as a grazing area.
Authorities found three individuals actively clearing and occupying approximately 7 rai of land, erecting concrete posts and ropes to demarcate plots. The suspects were arrested on-site, with tools and materials seized as evidence, before being handed over to investigators at Chalong Police Station.
The suspects face charges under the Land Code (Sections 9 and 108 bis) for unauthorized occupation and degradation of state land, as well as under the Forest Act (Section 54) for illegal clearing and possession of forest land.
