The Director of the NRE, Chaipadung Promsawat, said the water was being extracted by a private company owned by an “influential person who used to be a professor”.
Several wells had been sunk in the area, Mr Chaipadung said, adding that the company had managed to persuade local officials to turn a blind eye to its activities.
“Pumping ground water without permission like this could cause ground collapse,” he said. “It’s considered to be theft of natural resources from the public because no tax was paid.”
No one was at the site during the raid, but the NRE reported the case to the Chalong police to follow up the investigation.
It is not clear yet where the illegal water was being delivered to.