A combined force of officials from several agencies on Tuesday seized a large quantity of industrial dirt illegally stored in a warehouse in Ban Bung district of Chon Buri province.
The warehouse is located on a 20-rai plot at Ban Noen Mok in tambon Nong Irun.
Officials from the Department of Special Investigation, National Anti-Corruption Commission, Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commision and Central Institute of Forensic Science, led by DSI deputy chief Pol Col Yanpol Yangyuen, raided the warehouse.
They were acting on complaints from villagers nearby that they did not dare to use the water in their localities for fear it was contaminated by toxic substances from the industrial dirt and could be hazardous to their health.
They seized a large quantity of industrial dirt which, if smelted, could produce zinc worth about one billion baht. The price of zinc is about 30,000 baht per tonne.
Pol Col Yanpol said the DSI had asked the Central Institute of Forensic Science to take samples of the red dirt for tests to determine if it is ore. Thiswas necessary because the industry office of Chon Buri had earlier confirmed it was not ore.
The owner of the warehouse could be charged under the Toxic Substances Act and the Industrial Works Act if the dirt was proved to be ore, because it was stored there without a permit, he said.
Pol Col Yanpol said an arrest warrant could be issued only after the dirt was proved to be ore.
According to information earlier obtained by the DSI, the dirt was about to be packed in plastic bags, put in containers to be transported to Laem Chabang deep-sea port to be further shipped for smelting in China.
Noppadol Chiwa-issarakul, chief of the minerals section of the industry office of Chon Buri, said from a previous test the red dirt at the warehouse was industrial waste, not ore, but could still be smelted to extract zinc.
If it was not ore, the owner of the warehouse would not be regarded as violating the Minerals Act but might be charged for violating the Industrial Works Act because the dirt was stored there without a permit, he said.