Pakistani Man Wanted For Deadly Bombing At Bangkok Shrine

Thai police are confident of being able to directly interrogate the three suspects arrested by Malaysian police, who may have information to help its ongoing investigation into the group of people responsible for the deadly bomb attack in central Bangkok on Aug 17.

Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said Thursday an arrest warrant has been issued for Abdul Tawab on charges of conspiracy to possess unauthorized explosives and conspiracy to possess unauthorized war materials.

It says the 40-year-old Tawab frequented an apartment where police found bomb-making materials and arrested another suspect.

Thai police had previously said the man, carrying a Chinese passport in the name Abudureheman Abudusataer, may have directed the Aug. 17 bombing of the Erawan Shrine.

Reports have suggested that Tawab had twice transferred funds to a bank account belonging to a Turkish man who is the husband of Wanna Suanson, a Thai woman also wanted by police but whose whereabouts are unknown.

The Thai police, however, did not immediately go to Malaysia to bring them back as Malaysian authorities were also investigating whether the three were part of the ring that smuggled Uighurs into the country.

Thailand has earlier detained two suspects in connection with the blasts and issued arrest warrants for 12 others. However, no contact between Thailand and Turkey on this point has not been officially made, although Thai police have said this to the public for days. The identification of previous suspects as being from Xinjiang, the west China home of the Uighurs, and from Turkey seemed to support a link to the Uighur political cause, but the naming of a Pakistani suspect bolsters the police theory that the case involves a multinational smuggling gang.

“We could not comply with the request because they are kept by the military and are needed for criminal proceedings”, Pol Lt Gen Prawut said. “The people who planted the bomb at Rajprasong used this network’s services”.

“We might copy the barcodes and pass them to Turkey for verification”, he said.