Police seeking arrest warrants for more suspects in Friday’s Bangkok explosions

PHOTO: New Straits Times

Police will seek warrants for the arrest of two additional suspects believed to be involved in the planting and detonating of four explosive devices at the government complex and in front of the Thai Armed Forces headquarters in Chaeng Wattana on Friday.

Investigating police say they’ve now gathered all available footage from CCTV systems in the area showing the two suspects at the crime scenes before the explosions on Friday morning.

According to Thai PBS, informed police sources say that one of the suspects is aged 20-30 and wore a long-sleeve white shirt, black trousers and black sneakers, had a black backpack and carried an orange bag. He was spotted planting devices at two locations in front of the Thai Armed Forces headquarters in the Chaeng Qattana area, about two metres from B Building.

Another suspect, of similar age, was captured by surveillance cameras in the miniature park in front of B Building at the government complex, also in the Chaeng Wattana area. He was seen wearing a long-sleeve white shirt, brown trousers, black sneakers, a face mask and a white cap. He wore a black waist-bag.

Meanwhile, traders whose sidewalk stalls in Phetchaburi Soi 19 were damaged by a fire started by an explosion, have submitted their video footage to police, hoping the footage may have captured more images of the suspects.

The ‘Police Thailand’ webpage yesterday published surveillance images of the two suspects who are alleged to have dropped a parcel in front of the Royal Thai Police HQ.

One image shows a suspect, in yellow long-sleeve shirt, wearing a black cap and carrying a backpack, crouching on a sidewalk with a parcel in front of the RTP HQ. The next image shows the same man moving toward the BTS station at Siam Square. The third image shows the two suspects inside Siam Paragon shopping mall. The fourth image shows both of them in different clothing. Two more images show them about to board a taxi. The next shows both of them at a Mor Chit bus terminal ticket booth buying tickets for a journey south. The final image shows one suspect, wearing a red hat and face mask, in the back seat of a passenger van.

These two suspects were arrested at a checkpoint in Chumpon province in a van heading further south, towards, what is believed to be, their hometown in Narathiwat province.

SOURCE: Thai PBS