Police name two more suspects
Police have identified two more suspects in the Valentine's Day explosions in Bangkok.
Pol General Pansiri Praphawat told a press conference yesterday that police were looking into their possible roles or links to the five Iranians already facing arrest warrants before seeking more arrest warrants.
He did not give details on the names or nationality of the two new suspects.
He said the Iranian man apprehended last Sunday, Madani Seyed Mehrded, has been sentenced to three months in jail and fined Bt3,000 for overstaying his visa.
Mehrded has been held by immigration police and will soon be interviewed by Khlong Tan police, who are investigating the two grenade attacks and an accidental explosion at a rented home near Pridi Banomyong Road.
Police expect to complete their probe into the blasts this week, after gathering evidence and details from interviews with witnesses, while waiting to question Masoud Seda Ghatzadeh. The Iranian man is in Malaysian police custody pending likely extradition to Thailand.
Police found that the stickers imprinted with “SEJEAL” had been posted on Bangkok streets before the day of the blasts, February 14.
Special Branch police were trying to decipher the meaning of the mysterious Arabic word.
Saeib Morabi, the Iranian suspect who lost both legs in his alleged two grenade attacks that backfired, would not be informed of the criminal charges against him until he recovers enough.
Pansiri thanked witnesses for their cooperation and the general public for helping, along with public prosecutors and the Foreign Ministry, which resulted in the police investigation “making good progress in two weeks’ time”.
He said he had assigned two more senior investigators to work on who were the intended targets.
He declined to comment on a report that Iranian Embassy officials recently visited the suspects and later said Iran was being smeared. He said he could explain about only the police’s work on the case.
Police are maintaining tight security at the Israeli Embassy located in an office tower in central Bangkok and at areas frequented by visitors from Israel and the Middle East.
