KANCHANABURI — Police have arrested a group of men for drilling a tunnel into a mountain without a permit in search of “buried treasure” today.
The police arrested four workers at the site in Thong Pha Phum district in Kanchanaburi province and confiscated a number of drilling equipment, such as a power generator, an electric-powered driller, and four shovels.
The men told police they were hired by an unnamed businessman last month to search for "treasures" believed to have been buried in the mountain by Japanese soldiers during World War II.
Each of them has been paid 350 baht per day for their treasure hunting, the workers said. They added that they have not found any trace of the elusive war spoils despite a month of thorough drilling.
The police charged the workers for drilling without a permit and causing disturbance to the forest area.
Known to the Thais as "Gobori Gold," the tales of the Japanese Army's buried loots have captivated the attention of treasure seekers in Thailand for decades.
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