Thai police on Wednesday released the name of another person they accuse of being involved in last month’s Bangkok shrine bombing that killed 20 people and injured dozens of others.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Emrah Davutoglu, the husband of a previously named suspect, on suspicion of organizing and providing accommodation to other suspects, Thailand national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said.
Davutoglu and his wife, Wanna Suansan, 26, of Thailand are believed to have left the country at the same time, Prawut said, without elaborating on the timetable or their whereabouts.
Thai police previously said Wanna’s husband is Turkish. But Prawut did not comment Wednesday on Davutoglu’s citizenship.
Davutoglu and Wanna are among eight people for whom Thai police have issued arrest warrants in connection with the August 17 bombing at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine, Prawut said.
Two suspects have been arrested. But police said they still have yet to identify the man they say is the chief suspect in the bombing — seen on surveillance video wearing a yellow T-shirt and dark-framed glasses.
In one closed-circuit television image released by police, the man carries a dark-colored backpack near the shrine. Police said he hid a backpack with a pipe bomb underneath a bench.
Police: Wife connected to suspicious apartment
As for Davutoglu’s wife, Wanna, Thai police said this week that they were looking for her after authorities found bomb-making materials Sunday in a Bangkok-area apartment allegedly connected to her.
Her mother told police that she left Thailand two months ago “to stay with her husband in Turkey,” police Col. Saharat Saksilapachai said Monday.
Wanna has contacted Thai police through social media and denied any involvement, police said. She admitted renting an apartment room in Bangkok, though she said she gave it up almost a year ago, according to police.
She said she’s in Turkey with her baby and husband, who is Turkish, according to Saharat.
Authorities said Wednesday that Wanna is considering whether she is willing to return to Thailand to face accusations.
When Thai police announced Monday they were seeking Wanna, they released a sketch of an unidentified man, with dark hair and a mustache, whom they are also looking for in the case. Police said Monday that the man was not Wanna’s husband but did not reveal much else about him.
Two arrests
Police have yet to identify the two arrested suspects. They are:
• A man who was arrested after police allegedly found bomb-making material, including fuses, Saturday at a home in a Bangkok suburb. This home is different than the apartment that police say is connected to Wanna.
• A man who was arrested in Thailand near the Thai-Cambodian border as he tried to cross illegally, Prawut said Tuesday. Police have not detailed how they believe this person is connected to last month’s bombing.
