Iranian bombing suspects may have been planning to use a motorcycle to attack their targets in Bangkok.
GATHERING EVIDENCE: A forensic expert collects fingerprints from a motorcycle that was left unattended in Sukhumvit Soi 71. PHOTO: KOSOL NACHACHOL
Police on Saturday found a motorcycle that had been left in Sukhumvit Soi 71 since Tuesday when three bomb blasts rocked the area.
An owner of an electrical appliances repair shop alerted police after he noticed the Honda Wave had been parked in front of his shop for a long time.
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Bomb disposal experts and forensic police rushed to the scene and checked the motorcycle.
The motorcycle was purchased from a shop in the Klong Tan area by one of the suspects, said Pol Gen Pansiri Prapawat, national deputy police chief.
A police source said the motorcycle was bought for 26,400 baht by Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, 31, who was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday after fleeing Thailand.
Witnesses confirmed that the suspects used the motorcycle for travelling but police are investigating if they planned to use the motorcycle for a bomb attack.
Police found a sticker with the word "SEJEAL" under the motorcycle's seat.
(A passage in the Koran relates a miracle when birds from heaven dropped "sejeal stones" at an army on elephants from Yemen who were attempting to kill Muhammad, scaring the animals and saving the prophet's life. Palestinian guerrillas have referred to their rockets and mortars used to attack Israel as "sejeal stones".)
Police have sought arrest warrants for four people in relations to the blasts. They are suspected to be part of a team of Iranian nationals targeting Israeli diplomats in Thailand.
Two Iranians are in custody in Bangkok. Saeid Moradi, 28, was injured in one blast and is being treated at Chulalongkorn Hospital, while Mohammad Khazaei, 42, was detained at Suvarnabhumi airport.
The third suspect is Mr Sedaghatzadeh, while the fourth suspect is female, Leila Rohani, who has fled to Iran.
Police are seeking an arrest warrant for a fifth suspect who was seen on surveillance camera footage near a house just before an explosion ripped through it on Tuesday afternoon.
National police chief Priewpan Damapong said yesterday that it had not been confirmed whether the fifth suspect had been identified as Nikkhahfard Javad.
Pol Gen Priewpan played down alleged flaws in authorities' intelligence.
He said blasts also happened in India and Georgia despite tight security in both countries. "It is not an intelligence flaw on our part," he said.
Police sources said all four suspects held tourist visas. Ms Rohani entered Thailand four times last year. She flew back on Feb 5.
Mr Khazaei came to Thailand for the first time on Dec 15 last year and departed on Jan 7. He returned on Feb 8 accompanied by Mr Moradi, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket before flying to Suvarnabhumi. They went to Pattaya the same day to meet Mr Sedaghatzadeh. In Pattaya, Mr Khazaei checked in at Marine Plaza Hotel, while Mr Sedaghatzadeh and Mr Moradi stayed at Top Thai Hotel.
Security experts gather evidence at a parked motorcycle purchased by one of the Iranian gang involved in last week's bomb blasts. (Photo by Kosol Nachachol)
