Authorities have made arrests and demolished structures encroaching on Freedom Beach in Phuket, where foreigners were duped into buying illegally issued land title deeds at inflated prices.

Some 350 forest protection and local government officials, alongside police, used heavy machinery to knock down the buildings and restore free public access to Freedom Beach for Thais.

The structures encroached on nine rai (14,400 square metres) of the beach.

According to officials, fraudsters used ownership documents for other blocks of land to illegally seek title deeds to land along Freedom Beach. Then they sold the illegally issued land documents to Thais at 3-5 million baht per rai and to foreigners at 16 million baht per rai.

Officials estimated the illegal land sales and business development on Freedom Beach reaped about 3 billion baht. Police arrested four suspects on Sunday.

Authorities would work out fair compensation for the duped buyers, and protect witnesses in the case.

As officials demolished buildings on the beach, the natural environment and resources minister instructed them to guarantee free access for the general public. There must not be an entry fee, he said.

However, authorities would impose appropriate fees on foreign visitors, to raise a fund to maintain the beach, he added.