Fake bomb left outside Police headquarters in Bangkok – two suspects arrested

FILE PHOTO: Front gate of the Royal Thai Police HQ in Bangkok

Two men have been taken off a bus at a checkpoint and arrested early today on suspicion of placing two fake homemade bombs in front of the Royal Thai Police HQ in Bangkok.

The Nation reports that they were heading south at the time and already in Chumphon province, four or five hours south of the capital. The pair were arrested at the Pathom Phon police checkpoint on Phetkasem Road in Tambon Wang Phai of Chumphon’s Muang district and taken back to Bangkok for questioning.

Police cordoned off part of Rama I road in front of the Royal Thai police station last night on Thursday evening. Explosive ordnance disposal officers were sent to check the suspicious package and found a potato chip box and a juice box made to look like homemade bombs. They contained a detonator, circuit board and metal pellets, but no explosives.

Police checked CCTV which showed a slim man dressed in a yellow shirt and black trousers and wearing a hat and a face mask, walking to the spot before throwing down the two boxes and leaving.

After the incident, police tightened security around the police headquarters and sent officers to patrol Rama I Road from the Ratchaprasong to Chalermphao intersections and along Henri Dunant Road around the clock.

A police source said several senior police officers held an urgent meeting on the case at 1am this morning. The source says the two suspects were arrested because they were caught on security cameras around the area. One of the men was keeping watch while the other suspect walked to the spot to place the boxes.

The two were later seen walking to meet each other on the Skywalk of BTS Skytrain Siam station before entering Siam Paragon shopping mall. The two then changed clothes and took a taxi to the Chatuchak Park then a further taxi to the Morchit 2 bus terminal. They changed clothes again before buying tickets and boarding the bus heading southbound.

SOURCE: The Nation