Bangkok Bombings: Bribes got Smiley and Squirrely across border; Squirrely starts singing

       

                                                     

It's not known at this point whether names supplied for the two nabbed suspects are their real names, so for now I'm sticking with nicknames. As I mentioned in the last post there has been disagreement in some press reports about whether Smiley was nabbed in Cambodia or Thailand or trying to cross the border. This report from Thailand's Phuket Wan resolves the confusion (at least for the moment):

Bribes Probe on Border Crossing as Thailand Nabs Man Accused of Being Bangkok Bomber
By Phuketwan Reporter
Wednesday, September 2, 2015

PHUKET: A foreign man accused of being the Bangkok bomber was helped across the border from Thailand to Cambodia by a Thai official who was paid a bribe, according to media reports tonight.

However, in Cambodia, a Cambodian border official stopped the bomb suspect and alerted other authorities.

Soon after, Thai police sent a helicopter to the border crossing post at Sa Kheao and airlifted the suspect back to Bangkok for intensive questioning about the blast at the Erawan Shrine that killed 20 people on April 17.

Meanwhile, the first foreigner already under arrest and being questioned about the bombing told police that he came to Thailand via Vietnam and Laos.

At a checkpoint entry spot on the Thai border, he paid 18,000 baht to Thai Immigration officials to let him into Thailand, according to Thai police. [About 500 U.S. dollars]

Questions are now being asked about whether Immigration officials on the Thai border have been bribed to let two men associated with the Bangkok bombing enter and leave Thailand.

In more Squirrely news, Phuket Wan's report ends with this:

The first suspect, finally opening up to questioning, has said that the fake passports in his apartment were for the human trafficking of Uighurs from China who wanted to go to Turkey or third countries.

It remains to be seen whether he's telling the truth or the whole truth, but at least he's talking now.

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