Two key suspects in last month’s Erawan shrine bomb blast were taken to the scene for re-enactment amid tight security on Saturday afternoon.
Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) chief Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul and national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri led a team of police and soldiers to take Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili to the crime scene at 3.30pm.
- Photo gallery: Erawan bomb re-enactment
Explosive ordnance disposal officers, medical staff members and sniffer dogs were also deployed during the re-enactment at Ratchaprasong intersection and Hua Lamphong railway station.
Mr Karadag listens to security officers. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
The two suspects had confessed they had met at Hua Lamphong railway station before separating. Mr Karadag went to the Ratchaprasong intersection to place a bomb-filled rucksack at the Erawan shirne on Aug 17. He then went to a toilet at Lumpini park to change his yellow shirt to a grey one before returning to his accommodation in Nong Chok district of Bangkok.
Mr Karadag, also known as Bilal Turk, was identified by police as the yellow-shirted man based on CCTV footage that captured him planting the deadly bomb at the shrine. He was taken to the shrine as the first spot for the re-enactment.
Another team of security officers took Mr Mieraili to the fountain at the open plaza in front of CentralWorld shopping centre, opposite the Erawan Shrine, where he waited and later detonated the bomb from a mobile phone. After the blast, he threw the cell phone into Saen Saep canal in Pratunam area.
The re-enactment drew attention from many people and tourists. Traffic in the areas were temporarily closed.
Mr Karadag, 28, was the first suspect detained in connection with the shrine bombing and the Sathon pier blast the following day. He was arrested at his rented room at Pool Anant apartment building in Bangkok's outlying Nong Chok district on Aug 29. Bomb-making materials were found in the room, along with many forged Turkish passports. Mr Mieraili was apprehended in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo on Sept 1.
On Friday, the Bangkok Military Court approved 17 new arrest warrant s for suspects linked with last month’s bombings.
Mr Karadag is brought to the Erawan shrine. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)