The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) has now identified the money trails of suspects involved in the Erawan shrine and Sathon pier bombings and forwarded the findings to police, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya says.
Soldiers hand Adem Karadak, also known as Bilal Mohammed, over to the Metropolitan Police Bureau yesterday after holding him for seven days. The man is among several suspects in the Erawan shrine and Sathon pier bombings. He was arrested on Aug 29 in a raid on a rented room at an apartment in Bangkok’s Nong Chok district. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
Gen Paiboon said on Friday Amlo chief Seehanat Prayoonrat revealed that Amlo has been examining the financial movements of all the suspects who have been detained and are still sought on arrest warrants.
The information will help Amlo identify where the suspects' money came from, Gen Paiboon said. But he would not reveal more details of the financial investigations.
It is now up to Amlo to consider freezing and seizing the assets of the suspects, the minister said.
Gen Paiboon said he has instructed Amlo and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to closely follow the bombing case and provide police with any information they find.
Pol Col Seehanat said he had been working closely with security agencies to support their investigation into the case.
Sources at the Central Investigation Bureau earlier said all suspects who have been detained or are still sought on arrest warrants are believed to have links with Uighur smuggling rings.
The sources believe the trafficking rings use Thailand as a jump-off point for Turkey-bound migrants.
National police chief Somyot Poompunmuang also indicated on Thursday that those who had lost out as a result of a government crackdown on human trafficking may be involved in the blasts.
Police and soldiers on Tuesday arrested another suspect allegedly involved in the bombings at his house in tambon Pasemas in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district.
Security sources said the man, identified as 38-year-old Kamarudeng Sahoh, is a key member of a human trafficking network smuggling Rohingya and Uighurs from Myanmar to Thailand.
The arrest was made under martial law. The man was taken for further questioning at the 11th Army Circle in Bangkok.
Deputy national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda, who leads the investigation into the bombings, yesterday said he believed another suspect identified as Yusufu Mieralli, 25, is a key figure. The man was detained in Sa Kaeo on Sept 1.
"I'll question him myself. Yusufu Mieraili is the key," Pol Gen Chakthip said, adding that police are investigating whether there are connections between the blasts and human smuggling rings.
The man is charged with illegal entry into the country. Police said his fingerprints match those found at the Pool Anant apartment in Nong Chok district where police arrested another suspect and seized materials believed to be used in making bombs.
Mr Mieraili allegedly admitted that he was near the Ratchaprasong area when the bomb exploded on Aug 17, though he denied being the bomber.
His passport indicates he comes from the Xinjiang region, home to China's Uighur Muslim minority.
Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri revealed that DNA samples from Yusufu Mieraili did not match those found in the taxi, on a banknote or on shreds of a backpack recovered at the shrine.
"There's no evidence to confirm he is the yellow-shirted man," Pol Lt Gen Prawut said. "However, he is definitely involved in the bombing."
Mr Mieraili's fingerprints matched those collected from a container of explosive material found at the apartment and from a nail clipper at a rented room at Maimuna apartment in Bangkok's Min Buri district, the police spokesman said.
This means that the man seen wearing a yellow T-shirt while leaving a rucksack at the Erawan shrine on Aug 17 remains at large despite two arrests and the naming of seven suspects in recent days.
While police at this stage do not believe Mr Mieraili is the bomber, they do think he is an accomplice in the attack that killed 20 and injured 130.
The spokesman also said the bomb conspirators frequented another rented house on Raj Uthit 34 Road in Min Buri district where police found seven containers of suspicious liquid on Thursday night.
Pol Lt Gen Prawut also denied an earlier report that the house was rented by suspect Wanna Suansan.
Meanwhile, soldiers and police yesterday raided DIC Graphics Co on the 20th floor of the Sermitr Tower building in Soi Sukhumvit 21 in the Asok area following a tip-off that the company might be linked to the seven containers holding chemical liquid found at the rented house in Soi Raj Uthit 34.
Col Burin Thongprapai, an officer of the Judge Advocate-General's Department, said the containers bear the name of the company which produces printing ink, prompting authorities to investigate any possible links.
Initial checks found nothing suspicious, he said, adding that the company also said it imports many containers from several countries, including Japan and Pakistan.
National Council for Peace and Order spokesman Winthai Suvaree yesterday said initial checks found the suspicious liquid was a precursor in narcotics production, not chemicals used in making bombs.
Col Winthai said if foreign help is needed in verifying the suspects' nationalities, police investigators will coordinate directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said he was not aware of any request made to foreign governments for their cooperation in this aspect of the probe.
Out of the nine arrest warrants issued, two suspects have been identified as being Turkish. Another Thai suspect, Ms Suansan, is reportedly in Turkey but has said that she will travel back to Thailand to defend herself.
The military yesterday handed Adem Karadak, also known as Bilal Mohammed, over to the Metropolitan Police Bureau after holding him for seven days.
The man is among several suspects thought to be involved in the bombings. He was arrested last Saturday in a raid on a rented room at an apartment in Bangkok's Nong Chok district.
Deputy government spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipak yesterday speculated that the bombers could have received financial support from a human-trafficking cartel.
"Human traffickers have completely vested interests and some party lost out when we repatriated Uighur people [to China]," Maj Gen Werachon said, referring to the forced deportation 109 Uighur Muslims to China in July.
