PHATTHALUNG, 2 June 2014 – Police officers and soldiers in Phatthalung Province have stationed their forces to guard an oil palm plantation after scores of locals continue to invade the area in their search for gold.
The discovery of the ancient gold on May 24th at the site spurred a gold rush that attracted an unrelenting crowd of people. Despite earlier warnings from authorities, the locals still continue to dig up gold around the area.
In order to prevent such practices from continuing, both military and police forces were called in to stand guard for 24 hours and also erect a barbed wire fence around the area. Routes have also been blocked to deter people from hoarding the gold away.
Motorcycle taxis took the opportunity to service passengers into the gold site, whereas some vendors were able to sell more food and drinks. Needless to say, the gold rush provided quite a fortune for some locals.
