Thai police on Friday said neither of the two men detained over the
deadly Bangkok attack last month were believed to be the main bombing
suspect - seen on CCTV wearing a yellow t-shirt and placing a rucksack
under a bench at Erawan shrine moments before the blast.
The two
foreign suspects - identified as Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili but
whose nationalities remain unconfirmed - are thought to be part of a
group behind the 17 August blast at the religious shrine that killed 20
people.
The arrests have been seen as a potential breakthrough in
the investigation but on Friday police said evidence has suggested
neither are the main suspect.
"Evidence has showed that Yusufu was
probably not the yellow-shirt" suspect, national police spokesman
Prawut Thavornsiri told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok.
He
added that "nothing had confirmed" Karadag was the chief suspect,
referring to DNA tests without elaborating on the exact checks
conducted.
Fake identities
After nearly two
weeks without progress on the unprecedented bombing, authorities on
Saturday arrested Karadag in a raid on a flat on the eastern outskirts
of Bangkok, their first blast-related arrest.
Mieraili was detained three days later while trying to cross into Cambodia, according to Thai police.
Both
men have now been charged with possessing "illegal bomb weapons",
Prawut said on Friday, after Karadag was allegedly found in possession
of bomb-making paraphernalia and Mieraili's DNA was matched with that in
another raided flat where police found bomb-making materials.
Authorities
have refused to confirm the two arrested men's nationalities as they
believe both used fake identity documents and are still liaising with
embassies.
Karadag was found with dozens of fake Turkish passports while Mieraili carried a Chinese passport.
A
further seven people are wanted over the crime including a Turkish
national named as Emrah Davutoglu by police on Wednesday, the first time
Thai authorities have revealed the nationality of a foreign suspect of
the attack.
Friday, September 04, 2015
Men arrested over Bangkok attack unlikely the bomber
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