First Thai suspect in 2015 Bangkok bombing arrested

Photo: JS100
Photo: JS100

A Thai woman wanted by police for alleged involvement in the fatal bombing at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine in August of 2015 was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport when she returned to Thailand from Turkey yesterday.

Wanna, or Maisaroh, Suansan, 30, was accused by police of being a facilitator to the bombers, by allegedly renting rooms to them in Bangkok’s Min Buri district.

Her Turkish husband, Emrah Davutoglu, is also wanted by the Thai police for allegedly handling the bomb-making materials. The couple reportedly left Thailand on May 17, 2015 — a month before the blast, according to Thai media. 

The bomb, hidden in a backpack left behind a bench at the Erawan Shrine, exploded at 6:55pm on Aug 17, 2015. Twenty people, including 14 foreigners, were killed, and more than 120 others were injured.

Voices from the street: Erawan Shrine’s spirit is unbowed 

Wanna was one of 17 suspects in the bombing. Only two other suspects — Chinese ethnic Uighur men Adem Karadang and Mireli Yusufu — were arrested since the bombing. The pair are on trial at the Bangkok Military Court, Bangkok Post reported.

Pol. Gen. Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul, the national deputy police chief, said the Immigration Bureau had received a tipoff that Wanna would return to Thailand via Suvarnabhumi on Wednesday.

Thai police believe the bombing was the work of members of a Uighur trafficking network, who was affected by the Thai authorities’ crackdown on their business.

Photo: FM91BKK
Photo: FM91BKK


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