Thai government orders crackdown on alleged encroachment at Phuket’s Freedom Beach
Thai authorities have been ordered to intensify action over alleged encroachment at Phuket’s Freedom Beach, where officials say public beach access and forest land were unlawfully occupied.
Thailand’s government has ordered a close investigation into alleged land encroachment at Freedom Beach in Phuket, with officials instructed to pursue legal action to recover public beach and forest land.
On May 12, 2026, Pol. Maj. Gen. Nanchat Supamongkol, assistant minister at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had directly instructed Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin to closely monitor the case and ensure agencies act seriously and decisively against violators.
Nanchat said the aim was to reclaim forest areas and public beachfront as national property for the public.
He said officials from the ministry, Phuket provincial authorities, the Phuket land reform office, the Phuket forestry center, the Internal Security Operations Command, local administrative officials and other agencies had joined an inspection of the Freedom Beach area following orders from Suchart to accelerate investigations and prosecute those accused of encroaching on state resources.
According to Nanchat, a deep investigation found what he described as systematic and complex encroachment. He said the case began with a group that entered the area in 2015 as caretakers for the original landowner before later taking possession after the owner died. He also said legal action had been taken against officials connected to the improper issuance of land documents.
Authorities said influential figures were later brought in to expand control and claim exclusive rights over the access route to the beach. Nanchat said the group used the area’s steep mountain terrain to block public access and charged tourists 200 to 300 baht per person, claiming the fees were for site maintenance and waste management. He added that officials had also found attempts to use fake title documents in the land database system.
Earlier, Phuket authorities under Governor Sophon Suwannarat? Wait source says Nirat Pongsitthaworn, together with security agencies, inspected the Nak Koet mountain range national reserved forest and found clear encroachment of more than 57 rai. That led to seizures and 23 legal complaints under the Forest Act and the National Reserved Forest Act, the source said.
Nanchat said the government would not allow encroachment on forest land and public beaches for private gain and had instructed relevant agencies to speed up legal proceedings, coordinate with investigators to strengthen case files, and quickly bring offenders into the justice process.
