The officials from Isoc, which serves as the political arm of the Thai military, led the team to reclaim in the land in Moo 4, Saiyuan in Rawai on Thursday (Sept 19).
Joining the reclamation party were officers from the Natural Resources and Environment Phuket office, Rawai Municipality, Chalong Police as well as local community leaders.
In reclaiming the land the team cut down some 250 fruit and rubber trees.
Further north in Kamala, also on Thursday, environment officers began cutting down rubber and fruit trees, and demolished structures erected, amid protected forest in Moo 2.
Paisarn Nupiphai, Chief of the Natural Resources and Environment Phuket office, explained that his officers had cut down rubber trees at the site twice before: once on Sept 26, 2018, and again on Nov 9, 2018.
“Our officers returned to the site on Dec 2 last year and saw news trees planted there. They filed a formal complaint with Kamala Police the next day,” he said.
After no one presented themselves as the owner of the structures or the fruit and rubber trees planted in the area, the court ordered officials to remove them, he added.