Warrant issued for bomb 'mastermind'

AN arrest warrant was issued yesterday for a foreign man allegedly involved in last month’s Erawan Shrine bombing. 

Bangkok’s Min Buri Court accepted a police request to issue an arrest warrant for Abudustar Abdulrahman, or Izan, suspected of being the mastermind of the Erawan Shrine bombing, who fled Thailand one day ahead of the bombing, according to an informed source.

The source said the warrant was for a charge of conspiring to have military equipment in possession without permission. Witnesses said he had stayed at the Nong Chok apartment where the two captured suspects – Adem Karadag and Mieraili Yusufu – had resided. 

Meanwhile, the police yesterday dismissed media reports that two key suspects in the bombing case – the man in a yellow shirt who planted the bomb at Erawan Shrine and a man in a blue shirt who detonated another bomb at Sathorn Pier – had been arrested in Malaysia.

Royal Thai Police spokesman General Prawut Thavornsiri also clarified yesterday that deputy national police chief General Jakthip Chaijinda had not travelled to Malaysia to take custody of two suspects from Malaysian authorities, as reported by some media.

According to the spokesman, police have sought cooperation from different countries to help find the two suspects.

He also rejected media reports that “Izan” had flown to China. “We found that those reports are untrue.”

 

Suspects to move to Army base 

Tomorrow, Karadag and Mieraili will be moved to the 11th Military Circle compound, which is now used as a special detention facility, Corrections Department director-general Wittaya Suriyawong said yesterday. 

Wittaya also affirmed it was necessary for the Bangkok Remand Prison chief to appoint military officers as special prison guards at this special detention facility, so as to provide them the authority under the Corrections Act. 

Initially the facility, where Karadag and Mieraili would be held separately, would require 20-30 soldiers to guard them, he said. 

The Bangkok Remand Prison would also send one or two guards on a daily basis to advise the military officers about detention administration and visitor arrangements, he said. Throughout the time the duo was detained at Min Buri Prison, they had no visitors.

Two bomb blasts rocked Bangkok last month. One on August 17 targeted the Erawan Shrine, killing 20 people and injuring over 100 others. The other blast took place near Sathorn Pier the next day but did not cause any casualties.

In a related development, police investigators and military officers conducted a search of an apartment in Suan Luang district on Friday night that was rented by a 40-year-old Pakistani man, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The man, identified as Abdul Thawub, had twice transferred money to a bank account belonging to a Turkish man who is the husband of Thai woman Wanna Suanson. The couple is wanted by police in connection with the blasts.

The Pakistani man was not in the room at the time of search. The building manager told police the man had left his room on September 5 and had not returned since.