of the stockpile were also found to have been replaced by scaffolding, suggesting an attempt to cover-up the removal of the rice.
Col Suksan said the rice had been milled and delivered by the Marketing Organisation for Farmers to the warehouse of Phoenix Agritec (Thailand), one of four firms authorised to store the pledged rice in Muang district.
He added authorities earlier received reports of the disappearance of 10,000 rice sacks in the warehouse on July 9 and Nov 12 last year. Col PanlopFuangfu, chief of the 2nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment, said the stored rice was pledged between 2012 and 2013.
Relevant agencies will examine the stored rice to determine whether the grain is the same type recorded under the scheme, he said.
Army officers will be deployed to man the warehouse around the clock and a complaint will be lodged with police to track down the people involved, he said.
The warehouse was authorised to keep the rice from March 1 last year to Feb 28, 2016. Prime Minister's Office permanent secretary ML PanaddaDiskul said earlier this month that more than 100 teams wouldbe deployed to inspect rice stocks pledged to the previous government at 1,800 warehouses nationwide.
The inspection panels would compare the amount and quality of the rice against the figures given by the Commerce Ministry, said ML Panadda,who is also the chairman of the sub-committee inspecting the remaining government’s rice stocks.
The unconfirmed amount of grain in the government stockpile is a core issue in the National Anti-Corruption Commission's decision that former prime ministerYingluckShinawatra was guilty of dereliction that former prime minister YingluckShinawatra was guilty of dereliction of duty as chair of the National Rice Policy Committee.