Monks and laymen started to leave Wat Phra Dhammakaya late Friday as authorities prepared to cut its electricity and water supplies but showed no signs of planning to enter the grounds to arrest its embattled former abbot Phra Dhammajayo.
Tents and chairs were removed near Gate 6 of the 2,000-rai compound at around 2pm. They had been set up for thousands of monks and laymen who had staged prayer sit-ins since last Tuesday when a raid had been expected to begin.
Monks and lay followers then began leaving the grounds en masse via Gate 5 as police and officials of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) did not seem to be actively preparing to raid the temple.
Authorities had earlier obtained warrants to search the temple from Tuesday to Friday as Phra Dhammajayo, 72, is wanted on arrest warrants related to charges of laundering money, receiving stolen property and encroaching on national forests.
Numerous deadlines have come and gone since June when authorities began to step up efforts to bring the powerful monk to justice. Even now, it is not clear whether Phra Dhammajayo is in the temple, though supporters claim that he is there and is too ill to go anywhere.
Police are also pursuing legal action against the country's wealthiest temple for 111 offences including unauthorised construction of buildings, illegal drilling and use of an artesian well and installing power lines on public property.
Police are asking electricity authorities to cut power to unauthorised temple buildings, and sources say they have already prevented the use of the illegal artesian well.
The management of the huge complex had never sought tap water service from an outside organisation, so it was believed to be using only groundwater, sources said.
On the last day for the previously approved search warrants to be executed, a DSI team arrived to send two drones into the premises for surveillance at about noon.
However, the operation ended after just five minutes when one of the machines veered off course and cut the head of a DSI officer who managed to catch it and prevent it from crashing onto the ground.
