Translate

Monday, September 7

Bangkok bomb maker: Just doing a job for my boss

Mieraili opens up on role in Erawan blast
7 Sep 2015 at 03:47pm local time
The Bangkok Post


"Suspect Yusufu Mieraili (left) tells military interrogators he assembled the bomb for the actual bomber, as the first man arrested, Adem Karadak, also known as Bilal Mohammed, is remanded from military custody to prison."

The latest suspect caught in connection with the deadly bombing at Erawan shrine on Aug 17 has admitted he assembled the bomb before handing it to a yellow-shirted suspect who subsequently planted the device at the shrine, a police source said Sunday.

 [...]

The police source said Mr Mieraili had told the military authorities and the police during interrogation that he was hired by his boss to buy chemicals from shops in Min Buri. After that he used them to make the bomb at his room in Bangkok's Nong Chok district.

The source said Mr Mieraili did not say any more about his boss. 

Mr Mieraili also told investigators that after he finished making the bomb on Aug 17, he travelled to Hua Lamphong railway station and handed the bomb to the yellow-shirted suspect who later planted the device the same day, the source said.

 This police source said Mr Mieraili was also seen on camera at the site of the bombing on Aug 17 with the yellow-shirted man who police believe placed the explosives. 

Police think Mr Mieraili detonated the bomb before escaping in a taxi heading to the Pratunam area. However, the source did not elaborate on why they believe Mr Mieraili detonated the bomb and from where he did it.

Earlier, National Police Chief Gen Somyot Poompunmuang said most of the security cameras installed along the escape route from Ratchaprasong intersection to the Silom area were broken.  

[Pundita note: I saw one report that cited a source as saying that out of 20 dysfunctional cameras on the route, 15 were broken and 5 had never been hooked up.]  

Mr Mieraili was carrying a Chinese passport which gave his place of birth as China's western region of Xinjiang, but it was unclear if it was authentic. 

The source said Mr Mieraili's connection to the blast network is likely to become clearer after the suspect is handed over to police today. 

[...]

********

No comments: