Bangkok Blast: Border cops under fire over graft accusations

A suspect arrested in connection with the deadly Bangkok bomb attack allegedly confessed to having paid immigration police more than 21,000 baht (US$581) in bribes each time he travelled in and out of Thailand, the national police chief said on Thursday.

Police General Somyot Poompanmuang, who will retire at the end of this month, blames the corrupt officials for paving the way for the bloody bomb attack in the heart of Bangkok last month.

“It has caused many problems and has even affected national security,” Somyot said.

An informed source revealed that Somyot wrote to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday, detailing the inappropriate behaviour of some immigration police that could threaten the security of the nation.

The source said Prayut was informed that some immigration police had allowed foreigners to stay in Thailand without legally sound reasons, and that some immigration police had allowed people to cross borders without recording their information on a computer.

Somyot hinted that he was preparing to transfer many immigration police officers to the National Police Office over the scandal.

Immigration Police chief Lt-General Sakda Chuenphakdee stands accused of dereliction of duty.

On September 1, Mieraili Yusufu, 26, was arrested in the border province of Sa Kaew over his alleged role in the two blasts.

The arrest took place on the same day that several immigration police based in the province were slapped with immediate transfer orders.

Somyot said he hoped the media would continue to focus on the bribery scandal so the problem could be solved.

He said police inspector-general Nares Nanthachoti was investigating the bribery scandal and was expected to report the results on September 23.

Bangladeshi authorities, meanwhile, said yesterday that they would take seriously any request from Thailand via Interpol in relation to a suspect linked to the bombings.

Bangladesh’s assistant inspector-general Nazrul Islam told The Daily Star that he could not immediately ascertain whether Thailand was seeking cooperation through Interpol.

“Whenever any cooperation is sought from Interpol we take it seriously and take legal action,” the official said. A police source earlier said Abu Dustar Abdulrahman, or Izan, identified as the chief plotter of the blasts, left Suvarnabhumi Airport for Bangladesh via Flight BG0089 on August 16.

The intelligence director of Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion, Lt-Colonel Abul Kalam Azad, said: “We will take the matter seriously and will obviously look into it.”

However, Somyot yesterday said Thai police had not yet concluded that Izan was the mastermind. “Officials are coordinating with Bangladesh via Interpol to trace him,” he said.

AMLO probing transactions

Meanwhile the Anti-Money Laundering Office is probing related financial transactions in a bid to nail down all culprits involved in the bomb plot. Lt-General Prawut Thavornsiri, police spokesman and national police assistant commissioner, said Yusufu had a Bangkok Bank account at the lender’s Hua Mak branch that contained little money.

Prawut said Izan was involved in the attacks but police had no clear information about his role in the group.

“The primary information indicates that he has left Thailand but we don’t have confirmation whether he landed in Bangladesh,” he said.

The Erawan Shrine blast on August 17 killed 20 people and injured more than 100. The following day, another explosion happened near Sathorn Pier, but with no casualties.