Bomb plot in Phuket: 6 suspects arrested, officials continue search
2 bombs allegedly hidden on Surin Beach remain unfound
Officials are searching for two more bombs, which the suspects claimed to have hidden on Surin Beach in Phuket. All six criminals involved in the bomb plot were arrested.
Officers from Mueang Phang Nga Police Station apprehended two suspects, 29 year old Muhama Wadeng and 27 year old Sulaiman Gaza, in the southern province of Phang Nga at 3.30am on Tuesday, June 24. The pair were caught travelling in a vehicle carrying a bomb.
The suspects claimed that an unidentified person had hired them to deliver the device from Songkhla to Phuket. They were instructed to follow a specific route provided by the hirer and take turns driving the vehicle until they were stopped at a police checkpoint in Songkhla.
Police suspected their involvement in the ongoing insurgency in Thailand’s deep south and escorted them to Pattani province for questioning by a special division.
The suspects later confessed to having hidden bombs at four locations across Phuket: Phuket International Airport, Promthep Cape, Patong Beach, and Surin Beach.
The device at Phuket Airport was concealed in a white motorcycle. Officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, along with a K-9 unit, arrived at the scene and successfully defused the bomb.
The operation continued at Promthep Cape, where the explosive was found packed in an aluminium can and hidden beneath a staircase. It took four attempts to neutralise the device, with the first three attempts proving unsuccessful.
Around the same time, another team discovered a bomb buried on Patong Beach, approximately 200 metres from Loma Public Park. The disposal operation, witnessed by several beachgoers, was carried out safely.
The suspects further admitted to placing two additional bombs on Surin Beach. Officials searched the devices yesterday, but the operation was unsuccessful. According to PPTV HD, the search resumed at 7am today, June 27, to ensure the safety of tourists and residents.
According to the same report, six suspects were involved in the plot: two were arrested in Phang Nga, one in Bangkok, and the remaining three in other southern provinces of Thailand.
The Commander of the 4th Army Region, Paisarn Noosang, told Isra News Agency that the bombs were designed only to make loud noises and were not intended to cause fatalities.
Paisarn stated that insurgent leaders based in a neighbouring country were attempting to sow chaos at major tourist destinations in southern Thailand to damage the local economy.
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