An arrest warrant has been issued for another man believed to have played a key role in organising last month's deadly Erawan shrine bombing, according to a source.
The Bangkok South Criminal Court approved on Tuesday the Metropolitan Police Bureau's (MPB) arrest warrant for the suspect, identified as Abudureheman Abudusataer, 27, from China's Xinjiang region, the source said.
His alias among the detained bomb suspects was "Ishan", the source added.
Blast suspect Yusufu Mieraili, 25, allegedly told police during 14 hours of questioning that Ishan had arranged meetings of the bombing cell and assigned them their tasks, another source said.
The second source added that Ishan had left Thailand on a flight from Suvarnabhumi airport on Aug 16 -- one day before the blast. Police were investigating where he escaped to, the source added.
Mr Mieraili has confessed to MPB investigators that he was part of the bombing network, the source said.
He had been interrogated by the MPB after he was handed over from the 11th Army Circle in Bangkok, where he had been detained after he was arrested, according to the military, in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province.
Mr Mieraili told police he had been staying at the Maimuna Garden Home apartment on Ratuthit Soi 25/8 in Bangkok's Min Buri district.
On the day of the bombing he travelled to the Pool Anant apartment in Nong Chok district where he picked up a black backpack and took a taxi to Hua Lamphong railway station where he delivered the bag to a man wearing a yellow T-shirt, the source said.
A photo of the latest suspect, Abudureheman Abudusataer, 27, obtained from police investigators.
Mr Mieraili said it was the first time he had met the man, and that he did not realise at the time that the backpack contained a bomb, the source said.
He then went to the skywalk near CentralWorld department store where he took photos of the blast aftermath before fleeing, the source added.
Mr Mieraili has denied detonating the bomb that killed 20 people and injured 130 at the Erawan shrine.
During his interrogation, police also discovered he knew another suspect wanted in connection with the bomb blast near Sathon pier on Aug 18, the source said.
That suspect, wearing a blue shirt, was caught on security camera footage dropping a bomb in the canal near the pier.
Following the pier bomb, Mr Mieraili told investigators he stayed in an apartment with the yellow- and blue-shirted suspects in Min Buri district, the source said.
The yellow-shirted suspect was caught on a security camera sitting in a taxi passing Rajamangala Stadium as it headed in the direction of Min Buri, the source added.
Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri reiterated that Mr Mieraili was a crucial part of the investigation into the case. He has been charged with illegal possession of explosives and faces additional charges for involvement in the bombing.
National police chief Somyot Poompunmuang, meanwhile, said he could not confirm media reports that the two main suspects had fled to Malaysia via the southern provinces.
However, he admitted a taxi driver questioned over the shrine blast had confessed to transporting a number of "foreigners" onto a bus to the South.
The driver will probably face charges for his involvement, although he may not have been aware that he was transporting criminal suspects, Pol Gen Somyot said.
He also declined to confirm media reports that the yellow-shirted bomb suspect had previously been detained by police.
Police have determined that not all the members of the bomb network, thought to be 12 in total, knew each other, Pol Gen Somyot said.
The gang communicated with each other using new social media techniques, and the police are trying to track their communications, he added.
He confirmed the Anti-Money Laundering Office was examining the money trail of the gang but he could not confirm yet if the funding for the attack came from overseas, as has been speculated.
The shrine bombing is estimated to have cost the country's tourism industry about 64.3 billion baht as a result of losing around 1.33 million tourists in its aftermath, according to a Government House source.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) provided its assessment of the impact of the bombing on the sector to the cabinet Tuesday, along with a plan to rescue the tourism market, the source added.
The source said the effect of the shrine bomb had been at its most critical point in the immediate aftermath, and that the situation should begin to improve in the final quarter of this year.
A survey of 35 nations has been conducted to gauge international reaction to the bombing and it was found that most had issued travel alerts, at levels 1-3, warning people to be cautious when travelling in Thailand, said the source.
Hong Kong, Taiwan and Slovakia had issued the most serious warnings, advising their nationals to avoid making unnecessary trips to Thailand, said the source.
The TAT's tourism overseas offices had also reported that several countries in Southeast Asia scrapped package tours and flights to Thailand between last month and this month, the source said.
They included Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
As for the domestic tourism market, although the TAT had assessed that the bombing did not have a significant impact on this market, a slight decrease in the number of tourists has been seen in Bangkok after the attack, said the same source.
The TAT is implementing plans to boost confidence among potential visitors to Thailand through various forms of media and tourism promotion activities, the source said.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said the Thai embassy in Turkey has yet to be contacted by Wanna "Maisaroh" Suansan, who was identified as the first Thai suspect and alleged bomb attack accomplice. Previous media reports said she wanted to turn herself into authorities and clear her name.