Bombing 'organiser' identified; crime scene re-visited (Updated)

Arrested suspect Yusufu Mieraili has named Abudureheman (Ishan) Abudusataer, 27, as a key organiser in the bomb plot and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Mierali has now been taken to the Erawan shrine for a re-enactment of his actions.

Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning

Suspect No.1 Yusufu Mieraili, 25, re-enacted his story of receiving and handing off the Erawan shrine bomb at a Nong Chok apartment house. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD

Noon update

Yusufu Mieraili, pictured here near the Erawan Shrine, explains what he did the evening of August 17. KRIT PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN

Bangkokians got a glimpse of one the major key suspects in the Erawan shrine bombing when Yusufu Mieraili was taken by police first to Hua Lampong and then to the actual crime scene at Ratchaprasong. Here is a short report from our online reporters:

The re-enactment began at Hua Lampong, where he hired a tuk-tuk and alighted in front of Wat Pathumwanaram at Ratchaprasong. From there, he walked to an open plaza in front of the CentralWorld shopping centre, opposite the Erawan Shrine, where he waited and then took pictures of the bomb explosion.

He then walked to Soi Phetchburi 27, took a taxi to Ramkhamhaeng area and then returned by bus to Min Buri.

Security was extremely tight. KRIT PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN

The re-enactment on Wednesday lasted about one hour amid very tight security, with police and soldiers seemingly everywhere, and caused a traffic jam at Ratchaprasong intersection.

Morning story

Warrant issued for bombing 'organiser'

Damage to tourism industry put at B64bn

Post Reporters

Police say Abudureheman Abudusataer, 27, is their prime suspect as the mastermind of the Aug 17 Erawan shrine bombing. The name was taken from the Chinese passport he used to enter and leave Thailand. (Immigration photo obtained from police investigators)

An arrest warrant has been issued for another man believed to have played a key role in organising last month's deadly Erawan shrine bombing, according to a source.

The Bangkok South Criminal Court approved on Tuesday the Metropolitan Police Bureau's (MPB) arrest warrant for the suspect, identified as Abudureheman Abudusataer, 27, from China's Xinjiang region, the source said.

His alias among the detained bomb suspects was "Ishan", the source added.

Blast suspect Yusufu Mieraili, 25, allegedly told police during 14 hours of questioning that Ishan had arranged meetings of the bombing cell and assigned them their tasks, another source said.

The second source added that Ishan had left Thailand on a flight from Suvarnabhumi airport on Aug 16 – one day before the blast. Police were investigating where he escaped to, the source added.

Mr Mieraili has confessed to MPB investigators that he was part of the bombing network, the source said.

He had been interrogated by the MPB after he was handed over from the 11th Army Circle in Bangkok, where he had been detained after he was arrested, according to the military, in Sa Kaeo district of Aranyaprathet province.

Mr Mieraili told police he had been staying at the Maimuna Garden Home apartment on Ratuthit Soi 25/8 in Bangkok's Min Buri district.

On the day of the bombing he travelled to the Pool Anant apartment in Nong Chok district where he picked up a black backpack and took a taxi to Hua Lamphong railway station where he delivered the bag to a man wearing a yellow T-shirt, the source said.

Yusufu Mieraili points to room 412 in the Pool Anant apartment in Nong Chok. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD

Mr Mieraili said it was the first time he had met the man, and that he did not realise at the time that the backpack contained a bomb, the source said.

He then went to the skywalk near CentralWorld department store where he took photos of the blast aftermath before fleeing, the source added.

Mr Mieraili has denied detonating the bomb that killed 20 people and injured 130 at the Erawan shrine.

During his interrogation, police also discovered he knew another suspect wanted in connection with the bomb blast near Sathon pier on Aug 18, the source said.

That suspect, wearing a blue shirt, was caught on security camera footage dropping a bomb in the canal near the pier.

Following the pier bomb, Mr Mieraili told investigators he stayed in an apartment with the yellow- and blue-shirted suspects in Min Buri district, the source said.

The yellow-shirted suspect was caught on a security camera sitting in a taxi passing Rajamangala Stadium as it headed in the direction of Min Buri, the source added.

Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri reiterated that Mr Mieraili was a crucial part of the investigation into the case. He has been charged with illegal possession of  explosives and faces additional charges for involvement in the bombing.

National police chief Somyot Poompunmuang, meanwhile, said he could not confirm media reports that the two main suspects had fled to Malaysia via the southern provinces.

However, he admitted a taxi driver questioned over the shrine blast had confessed to transporting a number of "foreigners" onto a bus to the South.

The driver will probably face charges for his involvement, although he may not have been aware that he was transporting criminal suspects, Pol Gen Somyot said.

He also declined to confirm media reports that the yellow-shirted bomb suspect had previously been detained by police.

Police have determined that not all the members of the bomb network, thought to be 12 in total, knew each other, Pol Gen Somyot said.

The gang communicated with each other using new social media techniques, and the police are trying to track their communications, he added.

He confirmed the Anti-Money Laundering Office was examining the money trail of the gang but he could not confirm yet if the funding for the attack came from overseas, as has been speculated.

The shrine bombing is estimated to have cost the country's tourism industry about 64.3 billion baht as a result of losing around 1.33 million tourists in its aftermath, according to a Government House source.

สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/686560/bombing-organiser-identified