Suspected oil hoarding has been uncovered in four provinces, prompting a multi-agency crackdown and a push to classify the cases as special investigations.
Pol Lt Gen Rutthapon Naowarat, the justice minister, led a joint briefing with police, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), and energy and commerce officials on Wednesday after inspections were conducted at refineries and depots in Udon Thani, Pathum Thani, Samut Sakhon and Khon Kaen.
He said the operation targeted the entire supply chain, from refineries to end users, following signs of irregular transport and stockpiling during a period of high oil prices. The findings are set to be submitted to the special cases board on Thursday for consideration as special cases, he said.
Pol Gen Samran Nualma, deputy national police chief, outlined three key patterns identified by investigators.
The first involved oil tankers collecting fuel from depots but failing to deliver it to petrol stations.
From a pool of 11,067 tracked tankers, one case in Udon Thani involved 10 vehicles, each carrying about 40,000 litres. While stations displayed signs of shortages, GPS data showed two tankers deviating from routes and transferring fuel to smaller trucks in Khon Kaen.
A similar pattern was observed in Rayong, where a depot claimed to have been deregistered as a fuel station, raising concerns about oversight.
The second pattern centred on irregular activity at oil depots. Among 92 facilities monitored, one in Pathum Thani showed unusual electricity consumption. Normal usage stood at about 500 kilowatts, but this surged to 1,300 kilowatts on March 9-10, then dropped during March 15-17, when no distribution was recorded.
Activity then spiked again to 1,600 kilowatts on March 26 when diesel prices increased by 6 baht per litre. Investigators found that the depot held around 20 million litres in stock between March 20-25, prompting questions over whether fuel was withheld during certain periods, he said.
Pol Gen Samran said the third pattern involved supply disruption at petrol stations. Between March 15 and 17, several stations reported running out of fuel. However, in Samut Sakhon, investigators found tankers still operating but not delivering to their usual stations.
"These vehicles were still transporting oil, but not to the stations they previously supplied," Pol Gen Samran said, adding that officers are examining whether distribution was intentionally redirected.
DSI chief Pol Maj Yutthana Praedam said the cases could fall under laws governing price manipulation and unfair trade. "We must examine whether operators deliberately withheld fuel when prices were low and released it when prices increased," he said.
