Tracing the "Illegal Gold Mining Gang" in Thong Pha Phum National Park: When greed destroys the headwater forest, mountains become full of holes and stream waters change color, awaiting nature's retaliation.
When greed becomes more valuable than the forest. "Gold beneath the ground" A precious treasure driving people to risk everything, even prison. The SEE TRUE news team investigates on site. "Illegal gold mining gang" On 22 April 2026, images surfaced showing illegal gold mining within Thong Pha Phum National Park in Kanchanaburi Province. This exposed human greed as miners extract underground gold from the headwater forest area, damaging nature and the environment with long-term impacts requiring decades to recover.
The SEE TRUE news team accompanied Border Patrol Police Unit 135 to verify the situation, starting by traveling along Vajiralongkorn Dam towards Pilok Khee Village, the last village near the illegal mining sites, seeking clues related to the issue. The journey took nearly an hour by boat from the pier to the village pier, then continued by car winding into a small valley community.
This is a Karen community, with houses arranged along the hillside, mostly wooden and simple materials, some elevated to adapt to seasonal changes. Unexpectedly, some villagers are involved in gold mining.
Interviews with the village head revealed that gold mining in Pilok Khee has long existed, originally panning in streams since ancestors' times, but turning into serious excavation in 2023-2024 after miners found substantial amounts. Those successful posted on social media, increasing awareness.
In 2024 alone, many went mining until authorities intervened with arrests and posted warnings. The village head, acting as a government official, advised villagers to stop, warning that offenders face prison sentences without parole. Some are already imprisoned or soon to be. Yet, the value of gold tempts villagers to risk it. Early on, villagers bought small amounts, but as yields grew, investors began purchasing at over 60,000 baht per baht-weight during peak mining and increased enforcement.
With earnings from gold mining, villagers' lifestyles changed. Wooden houses gave way to concrete and steel homes, larger in size. Money was used for daily living and housing construction. Large houses in the village likely indicate past gold mining, since without it, they wouldn't have the funds.
, Mr. Yutthapong Damsrisuk, head of Thong Pha Phum National Park, explained that previously villagers earned only 100-200 baht panning in streams, but with rising gold prices, even small fragments hold value. They shifted from streams into the headwater forest, excavating mountains they believed had more gold. They dig deep with hoes and picks daily, building shelters and receiving supplies. By the time officials found out, the area had become a village.
"The community's original occupations, such as cassava farming and livestock raising, shifted entirely to gold mining. Some nights miners earned 400,000-500,000 baht; some reportedly mined one kilogram of gold in seven days, worth about 1.2 million baht. Investors buy to profit from the margin, then gold goes to shops that melt it and measure purity. Once gold leaves Thong Pha Phum, no one knows its origin."
As gold prices soared, the operation grew bolder, mining illegally without fear of authorities. Despite CCTV installations, the gangs remain indifferent and fearless.
The park chief added that during the rainy season in June, cameras showed many people, but officials face difficulties accessing the site as fallen trees block motorcycle paths, requiring two days on foot. From the first confiscation site spanning 14 rai, pits are up to 10 meters deep, leaving the mountain riddled with holes.
Police report that since the gold mining began, gun purchases have increased. Previously, miners fled from officials, but now carry short and long firearms and may shoot when caught. Authorities choose not to shoot back to avoid casualties. Money from gold sales buys guns for forest protection. Several arrests included firearms.
Illegal miners are not only villagers; Myanmar nationals near the border also sneak in. The population has grown from 1,000 to 2,000 in two years, mostly new arrivals mining gold with relatives from Myanmar. Officials have asked village leaders to push them out. Historically, this route was a natural path villagers used to reach Myanmar on foot, ending near armed KTLA forces. Officials have arrested militia members who, besides passing through, also mined gold.
, When the "underground treasure" is discovered, various groups converge. The village's previous peace is replaced by digging, illegal acts, and massive profits from a forest once full of life, now quietly overtaken by crime. The village head of Pilok Khee said he has lived there over 30 years without drug problems, but with around-the-clock gold mining, drug dealers from outside have entered the village. If illegal mining continues and the headwater forest disappears, villagers, as perpetrators, must accept the resulting consequences.
The stream flowing through the community is the villagers' lifeline. When not farming, villagers pan for gold there. But with mining reaching the headwater forest, impacts are emerging. On rainy days, sediment from mining turns the water muddy red.
Human greed is transforming a once lush forest into a scarred wasteland. The gold extracted may benefit some, but at the cost of the collapsing headwater forest, polluted water sources, and nature steadily destroyed. When floods, landslides, or natural retaliation occur, no one can blame others, as humans themselves are destroying the forest. Ultimately, is the gold worth the future losses?
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