Meddling claim sparks excise probe

The Excise Department has come under fire after it was claimed that one of its high-ranking officials attempted to persuade the police to release a truck which had been seized for carrying 15,000 litres of smuggled oil.

Deputy director-general of the department, Kriangkrai Pattanapon, said a committee had been formed on Wednesday to look into the claim, which surfaced following the arrest of a 47-year-old truck driver identified only as Sombat in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Muang district.

The truck driven by Mr Sombat was intercepted by the police on Phetkasem Highway in tambon Koh Lak as it made its way to the Central Plains on Saturday evening. Officers discovered the truck was loaded with 15,000 litres of oil of unknown origin.

Right after he was arrested, one of the officers at the scene reportedly received a phone call from the high-level Excise Department…