Thai Police Nab Suspect In London Bombings

[george]

Thai police nab suspect in London bombings

BANGKOK: -- Thai police have arrested an Algerian national wanted in connection with the July 7 London bombings that had killed 52 people, a report said on Saturday.

Atamnia Yachine, 33, was arrested on Wednesday in the Soi Nana entertainment district of Bangkok on charges of possessing 180 fake French and Spanish passports, said The Nation newspaper.

Yachine is believed to have provided terrorists behind the London bombings with fake documents, said Immigration Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Suwat Thamrongsrisakul.

Police were tipped off when an unspecified number of people were intercepted at Bangkok International Airport with 452 fake European passports earlier this month.

Thai authorities have yet to decide whether they will detain Yachine in Bangkok to further investigate his operations, or hand him over to the British government.

Thailand is a well-known hub for producing and selling fake documents.

--Indo-Asian News Service 2005-08-27

[george]

Thailand arrests Algerian wanted for London bombing probe

BANGKOK: -- An Algerian man, arrested in Bangkok for possessing fake passports, may have supplied false travel documents to London bombers, said Thailand's Immigration Police commissioner.

Atamnia Yachine was wanted by the British authorities in connection with last month's deadly bombings in London, Nation newspaper Saturday quoted immigration officer Suwat Thamrong-Srisakul as saying.

The 33-year-old Yachine was arrested on Wednesday in downtown Bangkok on charge of possessing 180 fake French and Spanish passports.

He was believed to have provided London bombers with bogus documents to enter Britain, said Suwat.

He was tracked down by Thai police following the bust of dealings of 452 fake passports last month in Bangkok.

The police, tipped off by previously-arrested suspects, found Yachine after pretending interest in his false document business.

The Thai authorities were debating whether to detain the Algerian longer to dig out more leads from him or hand him over immediately to the British government, the newspaper quoted anonymous police source as saying.

--Agencies 2005-08-27

[kmanrox]

umm.... i was just joking when my mates and i see Arab looking guys walking around Nana and we say 'oi, Osama's ppl are here' lol

[Frosty]

High season for mid eastern tourists here in Thailand. No telling how many terrorists or would be terrorists are lerking around! This my be the hidding place they are all using. And that could be why there have been no terrorist activity in central and northen T-land!

[John K]

It certainly sounds like a recent thread here about security increases everywhere except the places you can find Go Go bars. However it was not totally unexpected with the increase in tourist from that part of the world. The only question remains what bar was he in. Perhaps the Soi between Soi 3 and 5 should be renamed Soi Terrorist. If there was one, you can bet there are more.

[plachon]

Thai authorities have yet to decide whether they will detain Yachine in Bangkok to further investigate his operations, or hand him over to the British government.

Thailand is a well-known hub for producing and selling fake documents.

--Indo-Asian News Service 2005-08-27

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's that magical "h" word cropping up again. Not one that will be printed in the glossy promo brochures I suspect, but it does attest to the handiwork skills of the forgers.

Why the authorities wouldn't want to hand over Mr Y, if there is reasonable evidence against him, raises a few questions about the case.

[John K]

Thai police nab suspect in London bombings

Thailand is a well-known hub for producing and selling fake documents.

--Indo-Asian News Service 2005-08-27

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

To all the teachers reading this, now you know what your former students who copied and cheated in your class are doing for a living. So the is actually a job market for them.

[PattayaEx]

umm.... i was just joking when my mates and i see Arab looking guys walking around Nana and we say 'oi, Osama's ppl are here' lol

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i have run into a couple , in the south of pattaya

as shady as they may look...believe it..most of these guys are just Fine...

they love to party and throw money around...but mostly they stick to themselves...

[the scouser]

i have run into a couple , in the south of pattaya

as shady as they may look...believe it..most of these guys are just Fine...

they love to party and throw money around...but mostly they stick to themselves...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You must have run into a few in Qatar, too.

Scouse.

[Membrane]

umm.... i was just joking when my mates and i see Arab looking guys walking around Nana and we say 'oi, Osama's ppl are here' lol

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's just great... Hope their not scouting out their next place for a bombing...

[Cpt_M0ney_Sh0t]

umm.... i was just joking when my mates and i see Arab looking guys walking around Nana and we say 'oi, Osama's ppl are here' lol

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i have run into a couple , in the south of pattaya

as shady as they may look...believe it..most of these guys are just Fine...

they love to party and throw money around...but mostly they stick to themselves...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah I lived in Pattaya for almost 3 years and I always hung out in the Arab area in south Pattaya. Met alot of pepole many of them very friendly and with great hospitality. Don't befreind a Saudi unless you can drink like a fish! I learned that lesson the hard way, they will take you out and never let your glass get even halfway empty before they have the bar tender fill it up. And don't even try to pay for your drinks with them, they put in on their tabs and take offence if you try to pay. I opened the first shop for shwarma (kebab) sandwiches on walking street back in 2002 named Lil Scrub's (after my son) with a Iraqi friend of mind.

All in all I feel safest and most comfortable in the Arab area then all the other areas in all of Pattaya and I'm American!, openly American and yet not once, not even from this fat Iraqi who claimed to have known Saddam and was a high ranking officer in the Iraqi military, have I ever been given the cold shouldure.

Lets not let racism cloud our judgement, pepole are pepole.

[ChiangMaiMike]

"Why the authorities wouldn't want to hand over Mr Y, if there is reasonable evidence against him, raises a few questions about the case."

If he were wanted by U.S. authorities, I would suspiciously think that perhaps they had suggested that a little 'interrogation' here might produce more results than one in the U.S.... But I'm a paranoid American...

Edited August 27, 2005 by ChiangMaiMike

[eljeque]

Weren't the guys whom were just captured in England actually citizens or residents? Would they need fake passports? or am I missing something here on the connection?

[swervie2000]

/edit by mod.

Don't post blind links without explaining where they go. Off topic anyway.

Edited August 27, 2005 by cdnvic

[andyfletch]

Weren't the guys whom were just captured in England actually citizens or residents?  Would they need fake passports?  or am I missing something here on the connection?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The connection is: Guys arrested, still alive, bombs failed to go off, July 21st. News article is referring to July 7th bombs, 52 people killed, including the bombers,........they may not have been UK citizens.

[Sunny Valentine]

The July 7 terrorists were British Nationals, indeed. But for sure they had some people in the back that could well have been of foreign nationality, no doubt about that.

Why Thailand has not yet decided over handing the culprit over to England, seems also clear to me: By taking part in forged passports trading in Thailand, he has surely broke the law here. And it is not unusual that such people are first interrogated and then tried in the land they were cought.

Other than that, I agree with Cpt Moneyshot, I also have lots of good contact with some arabs in Pattaya. More problems with some Thais, Americans or fellow Austrians, but hard to generalise on Nationality.

Not out of the question that some Al Quaida fellows walk around the streets of Pattaya or Bangkok, too. But I guess the streets here are also filled with US war mongers, Bush afficionados and christian Talibans. Still undecided whom to fear more ....

Sunny

[Kringle]

Might be their ESCAPE papers they want. Just a thought.

[Khun Larry]

High season for mid eastern tourists here in Thailand. No telling how many terrorists or would be terrorists are lerking around! This my be the hidding place they are all using. And that could be why there have been no terrorist activity in central and northen T-land!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Arab with money = Tourist = Welcome

Arab without money = Terrorist = Not welcome

If you bring money you are welcome in LOS.

[Kringle]

DUH, like what the heck do they think these passports are being used for. Daaaamn, sure woulda thought someone woulda thought there were being used by terrorists before this.

[Nam Kao]

I'll feel safer now at Nana knowing they wont blow up their own base.

Hey what are these guys doing there anyway, Allah would be angry

[coldcrush]

Send them back to the UK we will gladly take care of him! We do everyone else. Except if your British its much harder to gain help!

Maybe he can get house arrest and get meals on wheels to bring him a selection of food OR Why not a 1st class ticket back and a huge convoy to take him to Scotland Yard at the price of the taxpayer, then he will smile at the camera and say Allah is Great....

[cobra]

umm.... i was just joking when my mates and i see Arab looking guys walking around Nana and we say 'oi, Osama's ppl are here' lol

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i have run into a couple , in the south of pattaya

as shady as they may look...believe it..most of these guys are just Fine...

they love to party and throw money around...but mostly they stick to themselves...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True enough,

But just like WW2, when Nazis,Yanks and Brits drank at the same bars in Argentina, there wasn't any fear of conflict for it was an unofficial neutral zone, but it was business as usual the next day back wherever,

Most of these guys do behave themselves but who knows what they're doing back in their home country,

... Hold your friends close, but hold your enemies closer ...

[george]

Update:

UK wants Algerian extradited

BANGKOK: -- Scotland Yard given a month to make case to get hands on passport suspect. British authorities will seek the extradition of an Algerian man arrested in Bangkok earlier this week in connection with the London bombings last month, a spokesman for Scotland Yard said yesterday.Atamnia Yacine, 33, was arrested on Wednesday in the Sukhumvit Soi Nana area on a charge of possessing 180 counterfeit French and Spanish passports.

He is believed to have been responsible for providing the masterminds behind the London bombings with bogus travel documents.

The July 7 bombs in London killed 52 commuters and wounded 700 others at three underground train stations and on a double-decker bus.

Police in London confirmed they were seeking Yacine’s extradition to Britain. “We understand the individual has been detained in Bangkok, and we will be working with the Crown Prosecution Service, the Foreign Office and Thai authorities to seek his extradition,” a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

In Bangkok, Lt-Gen Suwat Thamrong-srisakul confirmed that British police had asked for information about Yacine. “British officials want to inves-tigate this man to find out

whether he had anything to do with the London bombings,” Suwat said.

The forged passports found on the Algerian have been sent to the French and Spanish embassies in Bangkok for examination, Suwat added. “Suspicions about the man were aroused when British police officers attached to the British Embassy in Bangkok began their investigations into the fake passports,” he said.

If British police fail to substantiate their suspicions about Yacine’s involvement in terrorism within one month, he will be charged and tried in Thailand for forging passports.

He faces a prison sentence and expulsion. If, however, he is found to have committed crimes in other countries as well, the Bangkok embassies of those countries can petition the Attorney-General’s Office for his extradition, Suwat said.

The arrest of Yacine followed that of Mahieddine Daikh, a British citizen of Algerian origin, at Bangkok international airport earlier this month. Daikh was found to have 450 forged European passports on him.

-- Reuters, The Nation 2005-08-28

[carlthailand]

Might be their ESCAPE papers they want. Just a thought.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Escape papers for suicide bombers.

Now, how do they take their travel documents with them.

C

Edited August 28, 2005 by carlthailand

[DaveYo]

This story does not add up right. Something smells rather very fishy. First Britain says one thing, and now this coming from Thailand after reading the beginning posts only here and I stopped because it raises way too many questions. Does someone want to get Thailand involved?????????? with the bombings in Britain???????

Or is this another troll???

Edited August 28, 2005 by DaveYo

[Dradam]

High season for mid eastern tourists here in Thailand. No telling how many terrorists or would be terrorists are lerking around! This my be the hidding place they are all using. And that could be why there have been no terrorist activity in central and northen T-land!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Arab with money = Tourist = Welcome

Arab without money = Terrorist = Not welcome

If you bring money you are welcome in LOS.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Terrorists are certainly funded far better than tourists.

Taksin has always wanted Thailand to be the Hub of Asia.

His goals are:

Health Care Hub of Asia

Tourism Hub of Asia

Technology Hub of Asia

Fashion Hub of Asia

Now Thailand has achieved the distinction of:

Fake Documents Hub of Asia

Maybe later:

Terrorist Hub of Southeast Asia

(Though personally I think they will have a hard time stealing that title from Indonesia.)

In fairness, part of the goals have been achieved:

Cosmetic Surgery Hub of Asia

Sex Tourism Hub of Asia

Copied Technology Hub of Asia

Imitated Fashion Hub of Asia

[Khun Larry]

Taksin has always wanted Thailand to be the Hub of Asia.

His goals are:

Health Care Hub of Asia

Tourism Hub of Asia

Technology Hub of Asia

Fashion Hub of Asia

Now Thailand has achieved the distinction of:

Fake Documents Hub of Asia

Maybe later:

Terrorist Hub of Southeast Asia

(Though personally I think they will have a hard time stealing that title from Indonesia.)

In fairness, part of the goals have been achieved:

Cosmetic Surgery Hub of Asia

Sex Tourism Hub of Asia

Copied Technology Hub of Asia

Imitated Fashion Hub of Asia

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Aye Aye:

Cosmetic Surgery Hub of Asia

Sex Tourism Hub of THE WORLD (Golden Globe Award)

Copied Technology Hub of SEAsia (edged out by China)

Imitated Fashion Hub of Asia

[jrincon17]

umm.... i was just joking when my mates and i see Arab looking guys walking around Nana and we say 'oi, Osama's ppl are here' lol

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What happened to that other guy they arrested in Samui with all those passports. It should be a federal crime in any country and should do some hard time especially now a days .

[jrincon17]

umm.... i was just joking when my mates and i see Arab looking guys walking around Nana and we say 'oi, Osama's ppl are here' lol

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i have run into a couple , in the south of pattaya

as shady as they may look...believe it..most of these guys are just Fine...

they love to party and throw money around...but mostly they stick to themselves...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think they party just before they go on their mission for alah or whatever his name is .

[jrincon17]

I'll feel safer now at Nana knowing they wont blow up their own base.

  Hey what are these guys doing there anyway, Allah would be angry

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thai authorities have yet to decide whether they will detain Yachine in Bangkok to further investigate his operations, or hand him over to the British governmet

HUh ?

Well if they keep arresting them and the u.s. or u.k. step up and say "hey you need to hand these people over" . They might !