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Bangkok bombing: Police charge foreign suspect who 'looks like' man caught on CCTV

But they say he is not the man in a yellow T-shirt seen leaving a bag at the Erawan Shrine, where the blast two weeks ago killed 20

Sunday 30 August 2015 10:37 BST

Thai Police have released this image of a man identified in a fake passport as 'Adem Karadag', the suspect they have arrested in relation to the bombing (Thai police handout)

Bangkok police have charged a man who they say is linked to the deadly Erawan Shrine blast two weeks ago.

The foreign suspect was arrested during a raid on an apartment block in the Thai capital, during which officers found some 200 suspected fake passports and materials which they said could be used to make another bomb.

He has now been charged with the illegal possesion of explosives, but officers said he also "looks like" a man seen on CCTV at the scene of a second blast, one day after the attack on Erawan which killed 20 people.

National police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said that they do not believe the detained man to be the prime suspect in the Erawan blast, identified in CCTV footage as a man wearing a yellow T-shirt leaving a bag at the scene.

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Bangkok Bombing

Motorcycles lie on the street at the scene of a bomb attack near Erawan Shrine, central Bangkok, Thailand, 17 August 2015. An explosion in a busy commercial district in the Thai capital killed a yet unconfirmed number of people. Witnesses said the explosion happened around 7:15 pm (1215 GMT) at the Rajprasong Intersection, a business area famous among tourists and locals for a revered Hindu shrine.

EPA

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

A general view taken from a moving train shows bodies covered in white sheets around the Erawan Shrine, central Bangkok, Thailand, 17 August 2015. An explosion in a busy commercial district in the Thai capital killed a yet unconfirmed number of people. Witnesses said the explosion happened around 7:15 pm (1215 GMT) at the Rajprasong Intersection, a business area famous among tourists and locals for a revered Hindu shrine.

EPA

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

Officials close off an intersection after an explosion in Bangkok, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. A large explosion rocked a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing a number of people and injuring others, police said.

AP

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

A rescue workers near the scene of an explosion on August 17, 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. A large explosion believed to be from a bomb has happened in central Bangkok this evening with early reports suggesting 12 people have died and at least 20 more have been injured

Getty

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

Motorcycles are strewn about after an explosion in Bangkok, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. A large explosion rocked a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing a number of people and injuring others, police said

AP

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

A Thai soldier (R) looks at the damage after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok late on August 17, 2015 killing at least 10 people and wounding scores more. Body parts were scattered across the street after the explosion outside the Erawan Shrine in the downtown Chidlom district of the Thai capital.

AFP/Getty

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

A Thai soldier ropes off the scene after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok late on August 17, 2015 killing at least 10 people and wounding scores more. Body parts were scattered across the street after the explosion outside the Erawan Shrine in the downtown Chidlom district of the Thai capital.

AFP/Getty

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

Thai rescue workers carry an injured person after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok late on August 17, 2015 killing at least 10 people and wounding scores more. Body parts were scattered across the street after the explosion outside the Erawan Shrine in the downtown Chidlom district of the Thai capital.

AFP/Getty

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

Police chief Somyot Poompanmoung is interviewed by the press on August 17, 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. A large explosion believed to be from a bomb has happened in central Bangkok on the evening of Tuesday 17th of August, 2015. Early reports suggest 12 people have died and at least 20 more injured.

Getty Images

Bangkok Bombing

Bangkok Bombing

Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers enter the Erawan Shrine after an explosion in Bangkok, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. A large explosion rocked a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing a number of people and injuring others, police said.

AP

Officials have not released the name or nationality of the 28-year-old, who has been in Thailand since January 2014.

Amid speculation as to the motives of the attacks on Bangkok two weeks ago, police have said they believe a "group" to be involved but have given no further details. On Saturday they said the detained man was "connected to both Bangkok blasts", without explaining their rationale further.

On Sunday, Prawut told the Channel 3 TV channel that authorities believe the arrest breakthrough could lead them to more suspects, and that 1,000 mobile phone numbers were being monitored and checks run on all the seized passports.

"We're not only using information about phone usage from this man, but also usage of the group," he said.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, neighbours in the Nong Chok apartment block where the man was arrested said he had rented four rooms on the same floor, and that he had been seen entering and leaving the flats with a second, taller man several times each day.

"I still fear danger," a woman said. "We don't know if the other man has been arrested."

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