Warrants obtained for five men over Samui car-bomb

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: Police yesterday obtained arrest warrants for five suspects accused of carrying out the Central Festival car-bomb attack on Koh Samui earlier this month.

The five men have been identified as Asmin Katemmadee, 27, Abdulloh Samae, 25, Hakeem Dohloh, 31, Ammar Waedaramae, 27, all of whom are Pattani residents, and Muhammadyakee Samae, 34, of Yala.

The five are wanted without being charged under the Emergency Decree. There are three other suspects, including a used-car dealer, already in military custody without being charged.

Royal Thai Police spokesman Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri said that the five allegedly acquired a number of vehicles used in the bomb attack on the tourist island off Surat Thani on the night of April 10.

Meanwhile, a Honda Civic seen in surveillance-camera footage taking part in car-bomb attack has been found abandoned in Phatthalung province.

The brown sedan was found on Saturday by a road in Pa Bon district.

Police said they found evidence in the car, including latent fingerprints, linking it to the attack.

Pa Bon police quoted witnesses as saying that an unknown number of men drove the Honda to the location by Pa Bon-Nong Thong Road. They were picked up by a someone driving a motorcycle, the witnesses said.

The car has Bangkok licence plates, although its registration label indicates it has authentic Phatthalung licence plates. The Phatthalung plates are registered to a local female civil servant, while the authentic Bangkok licence plates were issued to a Bangkok-based man.

Police are questioning both people.

The Honda Civic was among three vehicles seen in footage being driven in the vicinity of a Mazda pickup truck used as the vehicular bomb.

The four vehicles were recorded while travelling from Yala province – where the three non-vehicular-bomb vehicles were sold by a used-car dealer – to Koh Samui.

— Phuket Gazette Editors