Update | Bangkok blast suspect seized with passports and bomb-making equipment 'part of people-smuggling gang'
Thailand’s army chief said the man arrested in connection with the deadly Bangkok bomb blast was not cooperating, as police announced he was part of a people-smuggling gang.
The unnamed foreigner, who is being held in military custody at an undisclosed location, was seized during a Saturday morning raid on a flat on the eastern outskirts of Bangkok.
Thai security forces raided an apartment in Nong Jok and discovered detonators, ball bearings and a metal pipe that was likely intended to hold a bomb. Multiple passports were also found.
Read more: ‘My dear daughter, will I ever see you again?’: Hong Kong families of Bangkok bomb victims hold Erawan Shrine vigil
"The bomb materials are the same, similar or the same type" as those used in both bombings, police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters on Saturday, adding that the suspect had travelled in and out of Thailand since January 2014.
“The interrogation is not making progress because the suspect is not really giving useful information,” Thai army chief General Udomdej Sitabutr said today.
“We have to conduct further interrogations and make him better understand so he will be more cooperative – while we have to be careful not to violate the suspect’s rights,” he added.
The blast that hit the Erawan shrine in a busy Bangkok shopping district on August 17 was Thailand’s worst single mass-casualty attack, killing 20 people. Among the dead were at least six Chinese nationals, including four from the mainland and two young women from Hong Kong. At least 30 more Chinese were wounded by the blast.
Police and the junta have been keen to play down any suggestion the attack was launched by international terrorists or specifically targeted Chinese tourists.
National police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said Sunday the suspect was part of a people-smuggling gang who helped illegal migrants obtain counterfeit documents, and the bomb attack was in response to a recent crackdown by Thai authorities.
“They (the gang) are unsatisfied with police arresting illegal entrants,” he told Channel 3 in a telephone interview.
“He (the suspect) had more than 200 fake passports (when he was arrested). It’s a network that fakes nationalities and sends them (illegal migrants) on to third countries,” he added, without elaborating how he received that information.
Bangkok has long had a reputation for gangs that produce counterfeit documents, while Thailand has been a major regional hub for both people smuggling and trafficking.
For days Thai police have been searching for a network believed to be behind the Erawan shrine attack and another blast the following day by a busy commuter pier that caused no injuries.
The investigation has focused on a prime suspect, described as a foreign man, who was captured on security footage wearing a yellow t-shirt and leaving a bag at the shrine moments before the blast.
But authorities have not yet said whether they believe the suspect now detained is the same as the man seen in this video footage.
WATCH: Video captures bomb explosion at Bangkok's Erawan shrine
Udomdej said he believed the arrested man was “absolutely involved with the bombs” adding that his physical appearance “looked like” the suspect seen in CCTV footage.
“But I will not determine whether he is the bomber or not,” he added.
The shrine is a popular tourist destination, particularly with Chinese visitors, who represent an important segment of the lucrative tourist market.
Criticism of the police investigation has been strong because few facts were clearly established, including the type of explosives used in the bombs.
Authorities were also accused of rapidly hosing down the crime scene at the shrine before all forensic evidence was recovered so it could be reopened to reassure the public - especially foreign tourists - that security in the city was back to normal.
Police say they have been handicapped by low-quality and broken surveillance cameras and a lack of sophisticated image-processing equipment to enhance the video they do have.
