>> Police have sent in a drone to inspect Wat Phra Dhammakaya and map out a plan to raid the premises after followers of the temple's abbot Phra Dhammajayo barricaded an entrance to thwart a raid to arrest him.
A police source said the drone was needed to survey the vast area of the temple to gather information before launching an arrest operation.
The Royal Thai Police will also be asked to send a helicopter to help survey the temple, the source said.
It is estimated that about 2,250 police and soldiers will need to be deployed at every entrance to the temple. There are at least 15 entrance gates, the source said.
Phra Dhammajayo's followers, claiming the abbot was still too sick to be interrogated, yesterday urged authorities not to arrest him.
But Department of Special Investigation chief Pol Col Paisit Wongmuang issued a stern warning to the followers, saying the DSI was duty-bound to act on the arrest warrant and they would not be permitted to prevent that.
As the standoff between the DSI and the monk escalated, reports were emerging of a build-up of followers at the temple in Pathum Thai's Khlong Luang district and at the DSI's headquarters.
At one main gate to the temple, they had placed two large earth-moving machines to prevent vehicles from entering.
Phra Dhammajayo is wanted on an arrest warrant approved by the Criminal Court on charges of money laundering and receiving stolen property worth 1.2 billion baht in connection with the 12-billion-baht Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement case.
The DSI is seeking court approval for a warrant to search Wat Phra Dhammakaya and arrest the abbot.
Ong-art Thamnitha, a temple spokesman, said the abbot's lawyers have appealed a Criminal Court decision to reject their request to revoke the warrant. The appeal was lodged on Friday.
Mr Ong-art urged the DSI to defer action until the Appeal Court's decision.
On Tuesday, the Criminal Court rejected the request to throw out the arrest warrant, saying it was issued lawfully and therefore should stand.
Mr Ong-art said the DSI should also wait for word from the Medical Council of Thailand after the temple asked it to send experts to examine the monk.
Phra Dhammajayo claims to be in ill health and cannot meet officials at the DSI to acknowledge the charges against him.
Mr Ong-art said about 10,000 followers were now gathered at the temple to give the abbot moral support and practise Dhamma.
He denied reports the temple was mobilising followers as "human shields" to protect the abbot, saying the followers were obeying the law and had no intention to obstruct DSI officials.
"There are no human shields to cause unrest and there will be no violence," Mr Ong-art said.
He said security had been stepped up at entrances to the temple to prevent "third hands" from causing trouble. If any violence occurs, the temple has nothing to do with it, he added.
The temple has closed its main entrance since Thursday night in what police sources say is a bid to block DSI officials from trying to arrest Phra Dhammajayo. Two large canvasses with messages "We believe in the innocence of Luang Por Dhammajayo" were erected at the main gate.
A backhoe and a grader remained parked in front of another gate, which is near the Daowadueng Building in the temple grounds, where the embattled abbot is believed to be resting after treatment for his reported ailments. Followers of the temple have been deployed to guard areas in and around the temple.
Pol Lt Col Pakorn Sucheevakun, director of the DSI's Bureau of Financial and Banking Crime, said the DSI has written to ask the Sangha Supreme Council and other bodies in the monastic hierarchy to tell Phra Dhammajayo to meet with DSI investigators.
Pol Lt Col Pakorn said the DSI has also written to ask the acting supreme patriarch Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, also known as Somdet Chuang, to step in and help DSI investigators.
He said Phra Dhammajayo will be handled according to legal procedures, and that the abbot's followers should cooperate with authorities to avoid a confrontation.
He said he was concerned that a "third hand" might incite unrest if authorities arrest the abbot at the temple.
A DSI source said investigators were checking on people offering financial support to the temple and might consider freezing their assets.