Thai Police Charge Lebanese In Terror Probe

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

That are the hard facts. Anything else are wild speculation with the smell of conspiracy theories and without any concrete evidence.

According to the Thais whom you trust, the guy has confessed to being part of a bomb plot. The Thais you trust also found 4 tons of bomb making materials that the suspect, according to the Thais you trust, said was intended for export as bombs for other countries. The Thais you trust have now charged the guy with a crime.

You can continue to entertain yourself solo. You don't deserve any more of my time.

[gopnarak]

I trust the Thai authorities to do the right thing.

And don't give so much about what some journalist posted on twitter or some sound bites in that media reports about who said what about some else confessions.

Ah, so you trust only things said by Thai politicians and officials on public? As credible source, I mean.

I think they do the right thing in this situation and that they are not stupid nor incompetent as the general bashing tune here goes.

What exactly did they do right?

I cannot spot any serious wrongdoings. I have no reason to complain.

[Morch]

I trust the Thai authorities to do the right thing.

And don't give so much about what some journalist posted on twitter or some sound bites in that media reports about who said what about some else confessions.

Ah, so you trust only things said by Thai politicians and officials on public? As credible source, I mean.

I think they do the right thing in this situation and that they are not stupid nor incompetent as the general bashing tune here goes.

The right thing being what?

[Jingthing]

I cannot spot any serious wrongdoings. I have no reason to complain.

It's hard to tell. Does anyone here know how many of the Hezbollah terrorists in Thailand are still working on attacks or have run away from the country? Note: The US embassy warning is still in effect.

[Thai at Heart]

I cannot spot any serious wrongdoings. I have no reason to complain.

Got a plank in your eye?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Today from the AP:

A Bangkok court later Tuesday ordered Atris Hussein detained for 12 days for illegally possessing explosive materials.

Presumably that means he's being detained pending the court case against him, not his sentence for the offense.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And here's MCOT's report for the day:

BANGKOK, Jan 17 - Lebanese-Swedish terror suspect Atris Hussein was to be questioned further by police Tuesday before being transferred to Bangkok Criminal Court for further detention.

According to the Border Patrol Police Bureau, Mr Hussein entered the Thai capital several times during Jan 10-12 and conversed with several persons, both Thais and foreigners.

Police from the Crime Suppression Division will participate in investigating the suspect, Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Pansiri Prapawat said.

Mr Hussein was charged Monday afternoon with possessing agricultural fertilisers, chemicals which were linked to a terror plot after the substances, which can be used to compound explosives, were discovered in a building in suburban Samut Sakhon, adjacent to the capital.

Despite the fact that a large amount of urea fertiliser and ammonium nitrate solution was found, the suspect said the building was used only to store the chemicals, but not to produce explosives. Pol Gen Pansiri said fingerprints on the seized items will be ready within two days.

Meanwhile, no hidden traces were found after being thoroughly examined at 400 fans, which were among the items seized at the building. Police said there were believed to be more than one suspect involved and who might have planned to ship the fans abroad with the ammonium nitrate solution.

According to Mr Hussein, there was no terror plot planned for Thailand but the country was being used as a transit site to distribute materials for making bombs overseas.

However, the location was not disclosed by the Thai authorities.

Mr Hussein was detained for questioning Friday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport under Thai immigration law with suspected links to Hezbollah, a militant political party in Lebanon which holds 11 of 30 cabinet seats in the Lebanese government and which is considered as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States, Britain, Canada and several other countries.

He was leaving Thailand the same day as the US embassy in Bangkok issued a terrorist threat warning for the capital. (MCOT online news)

http://www.mcot.net/...age/319367.html

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And some interesting background in a Voice of America report today, particularly regarding Hezbollah and Thailand:

Analysts say Thai authorities were not happy with the terrorism warning. because of the potential impact on tourism and trade.

Rohan Gunaratna, the head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, says Hezbollah has demonstrated that it is a real threat to Thailand and the region.

“The Lebanese Hezbollah has traditionally operated in Thailand," he said. "In fact, we have a number of cases of terrorists from the Lebanese Hezbollah group planning and preparing attacks in Thailand and the region. In the mid 1990s there were several plots by Lebanese Hezbollah uncovered. For example, there was a plan to hit the Israeli and the American embassies in Singapore and also in Thailand.”

Gunaratna says Hezbollah was responsible for a failed car bomb attack on the Israeli Embassy in 1994. It was only narrowly avoided after the truck packed with explosives was in a minor traffic accident and the driver fled the scene.

At times, Thailand’s anti-terrorism cooperation with the United States has been controversial.

Thailand was alleged to be one of the first “black sites” where U.S. intelligence agents held and questioned terrorist leaders. The U.S.-Thai anti-terrorism cooperation is essential to keeping Thailand the region safe said Gunaratna.

“The Americans have had sustained and continuous presence in Bangkok, funded and supported so many training programs and other forms of assistant to build counter-terrorism capacity in Southeast Asia," said Gunaratna. "And, Thailand is in many ways a key node [complication] for that cooperation that has kept this region safe from terrorism.”

http://www.voanews.c...-137471548.html

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And this from Richard Ehrlich in the Asia Times, a long and good read that also includes history on the 1972 attack on the Israeli Embassy in BKK and the attempted embassy bombing in 1994:

Atris holds a Swedish passport issued in 2005, according to a scan of the document published by Ynet, an online news website of Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper. Atris married a Swedish woman in 1996 and reportedly owned a hair salon in Gothenburg, Sweden, before he returned to live in Lebanon, according to media reports.

Police issued a sketch of a second clean-shaven man who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s and was described as a terrorist suspect who was traveling with Atris. The hand-drawn portrait "bears great resemblance to Hezbollah operative Naim Haris", reported Ynet.

"The latter's photo was unusually published last year by the Shin Bet [israel's internal security agency], which at the time identified him as an operative in charge of recruiting Hezbollah agents worldwide," Ynet reported on Sunday.

"Iran and Hezbollah may have now chosen Thailand as the target for a terror attack against Israel, possibly to avenge the recent killings and blasts in Iran, or to take revenge for the assassination of Hezbollah's military chief Imad Mugniyah some four years ago," Ynet reported.

http://www.atimes.co...a/NA18Ae02.html

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And some explanation and detail of the potential bomb target locations in Bangkok:

On a narrow street parallel to Khao San Road is Bangkok's Jewish Chabad House, permanently guarded by Israeli and Thai security. Upstairs is a Jewish-only floor with a small orthodox synagogue segregated according to gender, plus free telephone lines from Bangkok to Israel, Internet terminals and other travelers' facilities.

Chabad House is also visited by hundreds of mostly Israeli travelers every Saturday night for religious services and a free dinner. Directly across from Chabad House is the multi-story Viengtai Hotel frequented by Israeli tourists who want to be near Chabad House and dine at its downstairs public Kosher restaurant.

Thai officials said a second possible target was Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Soi 22, which is crowded with tourist venues and the site of Beth Elisheva Synagogue, Thailand's main center for Jewish services. One street away, on Sukhumvit Soi 20, is a Hebrew school.

Thailand is a favorite destination for thousands of Israeli tourists each year. An additional 300 mostly foreign Jews reside in Thailand and are mostly involved in import-export businesses and jewelry production.

[Thai at Heart]

As for our friend saying how much he trusts the Thai authorities and their competence. It seems Hizbollah may have a very good reason to doubt the competency of Somchai Clouseau .......

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/07/activating_hezbollah_cells_to.php

On 17 March 1994, a Hezbollah operation to bomb the Israeli embassy in Bangkok went awry when the terrorists who were driving the truck bomb got into a traffic accident in Bangkok’s notoriously congested streets. The driver fled the scene and the truck was towed to a police station; the bomb was only discovered days later when the police inspected the car.

[daboyz1]

As for our friend saying how much he trusts the Thai authorities and their competence. It seems Hizbollah may have a very good reason to doubt the competency of Somchai Clouseau .......

http://counterterror...ah_cells_to.php

On 17 March 1994, a Hezbollah operation to bomb the Israeli embassy in Bangkok went awry when the terrorists who were driving the truck bomb got into a traffic accident in Bangkok’s notoriously congested streets. The driver fled the scene and the truck was towed to a police station; the bomb was only discovered days later when the police inspected the car.

LOL!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

That's an interesting 2006 blog post you've linked to... TAH....

I thought these addition elements were equally interesting:

[bTW, dittos on "Somchai Clouseau" ]

Hezbollah operatives have long used Thailand as a center for arms procurement and document forging. Most importantly, and not coincidentally, Hezbollah’s activities in Southeast Asia have been in two countries with diplomatic relations and close commercial and or security ties with Israel, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

.............................

• Other Hezbollah operations in Thailand include the surveilling of the El-Al office in Bangkok and counter at Don Muang airport, the only airport in Southeast Asia where the Israeli airline flies.

• In Thailand, Hezbollah is believed to use an Islamic school run by an Iranian for fund raising.

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Thai at Heart]

That's an interesting 2006 blog post you've linked to... TAH....

I thought these addition elements were equally interesting:

Hezbollah operatives have long used Thailand as a center for arms procurement and document forging. Most importantly, and not coincidentally, Hezbollah’s activities in Southeast Asia have been in two countries with diplomatic relations and close commercial and or security ties with Israel, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

.............................

• Other Hezbollah operations in Thailand include the surveilling of the El-Al office in Bangkok and counter at Don Muang airport, the only airport in Southeast Asia where the Israeli airline flies.

• In Thailand, Hezbollah is believed to use an Islamic school run by an Iranian for fund raising.

it is interesting, but when you have had plonkers talking about the competence of the local authorities fills him with confidence, but you read that the police actually parked a terrorist truck bomb in their own car park a few years ago, you realise that the more things change the more they stay the same over here.

The BIB cannot be relied to find their own backside let alone proactively police anything. I am amazed they got 200 guys there to apprehend this guy. I presume they asked for 20, but there was a printing error

Although, the fact that the truck got into an accident doesn't say too much about the other guys either.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Some interesting excerpts from Wednesday's The Nation report:

Ongoing police investigation into a high-profile terrorism case suggests that Lebanese suspect Atris Hussein may have had many accomplices, including some Thais, Deputy National Police Commissioner General Pansiri Prapawat disclosed yesterday.

"We will question people who have been in contact with Atris," he said, refusing to elaborate.

.........................

Urea fertiliser is freely available in Thailand and possessing it is not a legal offence. However, ammonia nitrate is a controlled substance and unauthorised possession constitutes the violation of law.

Assistant National Police Commissioner Lt-General Jaramporn Suramanee said the Scientific Crime Detection Division was examining fingerprints to determine who else might have been involved.

Winai said Hussein had told police that he had never exported bomb-making materials out of Thailand before.

"He was going to do it for the first time," he said.

Pansiri said Hussein was cooperating with the police and that investigation was making good progress. To date, he said, the suspect has not been charged with terrorism.

An informed source said Hussein had travelled in and out of Thailand several times over the past two years and usually stayed at Bangkok's All Seasons Hotel.

According to the source, Hussein had revealed in jail that bomb-making materials were being kept in a shophouse in Samut Sakhon and that he used to drive around the capital taking photos of key sites.

Yet, when the charge was filed against him officially, he denied any wrongdoing.

"We will question more witnesses and gather more evidence before deciding whether to file terrorism charges," Pansiri said yesterday.

The Criminal Court yesterday approved an initial 12-day detention for Hussein pending further investigation. He is now being held at the Bangkok Remand Prison.

http://www.nationmul...e-30173963.html

Now why would the suspect be driving around the city taking pictures of key sites???? Hmmm...

Wonder if they'll find any pix of the Chabad House or synagogues or Hebrew schools among his possessions?

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The BIB cannot be relied to find their own backside let alone proactively police anything. I am amazed they got 200 guys there to apprehend this guy. I presume they asked for 20, but there was a printing error

Although, the fact that the truck got into an accident doesn't say too much about the other guys either.

Re No. 1, the police all wanted to be in the photo and/or on TV...

Re No. 2, what do you expect a Hezbollah or other ME terrorist to know about BKK driving!

PS - It was pretty funny... Last night on Thai Channel 3, they had long video of the police taking the urea containers out of the storage place, and the video showed they had a long line of folks handing each other box by box to get them from the building to the big truck outside...

And while I'm watching the video, as one guy is passing a box to the next guy, the box slips and they almost drop it to the ground... I guess we should be glad they weren't handling live explosives...per se...

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[gopnarak]

As for our friend saying how much he trusts the Thai authorities and their competence. It seems Hizbollah may have a very good reason to doubt the competency of Somchai Clouseau .......

http://counterterror...ah_cells_to.php

On 17 March 1994, a Hezbollah operation to bomb the Israeli embassy in Bangkok went awry when the terrorists who were driving the truck bomb got into a traffic accident in Bangkok’s notoriously congested streets. The driver fled the scene and the truck was towed to a police station; the bomb was only discovered days later when the police inspected the car.

Why belittle the Thai authorities and their competence?

Oklahoma, WTC, Pentagon .. did that happen in Thailand? No.

Have they captured figures like Hambali, the so called Osama bin Laden of SEA, here in Thailand. Yes.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

"We will question more witnesses and gather more evidence before deciding whether to file terrorism charges," Pansiri said yesterday.

BTW, it bears noting, that item above from Wednesday's report in The Nation is the first public mention I've seen from any Thai official talking about the prospect of terrorism charges against Hussein...

Amazing Thailand. Two to three days ago, Thailand said the guy had done nothing wrong, broken no law and was going to be deported. Today's he's facing illegal weapons charges and might be facing terrorism charges....

My my....how things do change....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And some interesting background on urea and its past use in bombs from the Jakarta Globe (which is using a Reuters report):

Urea and ammonium nitrate have been used in a number of deadly attacks, including the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which killed 168 people, and a car bomb that exploded outside the Norwegian prime minister’s office in Oslo last year in July, killing eight people.

But the amounts stored in Bangkok were exceptionally large, roughly seven times bigger than the urea-nitrate and hydrogen mixture used in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York and twice the amount used in the Oklahoma bombing.

Ammonium nitrate and urea are also widely used for home-made bombs to target soldiers and government buildings in Thailand’s three Muslim southernmost provinces, where an insurgency has killed nearly 5,000 people since 2004.

“This is obviously a serious wake-up call for the Thai authorities and it is surprising given supposedly tighter restrictions on homemade explosives of this type, driven by their extensive use in the insurgency in the south,” said Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based security analyst with IHS Jane’s. “They will be focused on establishing exactly where these materials were sourced, by whom and over what period of time.”

Piya said Hussein had been charged under the country’s Arms Control Act, which requires defense ministry licences for possession of large quantities of substances that can be used to make bombs. Breaches of that law are punishable by up to five years in prison if found guilty.

http://www.thejakart...-suspect/491993

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Let's see... the Thai police said they found 4,380 kilos of urea fertilizer... That works out to 4.8 tons or 9,656 pounds of the stuff...

And they said 260 liters of liquid amonia nitrate, which works out as almost 69 gallons. Although the BKK Post seems to be using 290 liters.

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4984859

By comparison, according to Wikipedia, the 1993 World Trade Center bomb was a total, with all ingredients, around 600 kilos or 1,300 pounds. So yes, about one-seventh the size of the Bangkok stash.

http://en.wikipedia....characteristics

The April 1995 Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City involved a bomb that included almost 2500 kilos, or 5400 pounds, of high grade amonium nitrate fertilizer along with a bunch of other ingredients, which were mixed in plastic buckets and using a bathroom scale. So yes again, a bit more than half the size of the Bangkok stash.

http://en.wikipedia....ilding_the_bomb

The Bangkok suspect obviously had plenty of ingredients for a very large bomb, or even several very large bombs...

Now today's BKK Post quotes a police source as saying Hussein is claiming the chemicals were intended to be shipped to the Middle East and Africa for medical use.... which obviously is 180 degrees opposite of all the other supposed confessions that have been reported.

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Jayman]

.We have eco tourism, medical tourism being promoted here. Why not terror tourism. I'm sure TAT can find a snappier slogan.

Thailand- Where you get the best bang for your buck!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And an interesting background article on just what urea fertilizer looks like and is used for.... and also how it can deteriorate in hot, humid conditions.

Disadvantages of Urea Fertilizer

Urea is very soluble in water, and hygroscopic water (hygroscopic water creates a thin layer surrounding individual soil particles, which makes water unavailable to plants), and hence requires better packaging quality.

It is not as stable as other solid nitrogenous fertilizers. Urea decomposes even at room temperatures, particularly in a humid atmosphere releasing ammonia and carbon dioxide. The formation of ammonia and carbon dioxide results in serious loss.

If urea contains impurities more than 2 percent, it cannot be used as a fertilizer, since the impurities are toxic to certain crops, particularly citrus.

http://www.ehow.com/...l#ixzz1jkKbKJxG

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Lots of urea fertilizer suppliers in Thailand....

http://www.alibaba.c...fertilizer.html

And amonium nitrate as well...

Thai Nitrate Co., Ltd. (TNC) was founded on February 18,1994 Between TPI Polene Public Co., Ltd. and Dyno Industrier ASA Ltd. The Company is the first producer of Ammonium Nitrate and Nitric Acids in Thailand.The Plant is located on 30 rai at Rayong Province. The Plant is equipped with the state-of-the-art technology to produce 70,000 tonnes of Nitric Acids ans 70,000 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate

And another....

http://www.alibaba.com/member/kimberlyintertrade/aboutus.html#companyprofile

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And this from the New York Times re Hussein's Swedish passport:

There was some uncertainty about Mr. Hussein’s documents. The Thai authorities said he was traveling with two passports, one Lebanese and one Swedish.

Anders Jorle, a spokesman for the Swedish Foreign Ministry, said the Swedish passport had expired, despite an image of the main page of the passport circulating in the Thai media that appears to show expiration in 2015.

Swedish officials have asked to meet with Mr. Hussein. “We have not seen this person or met him,” Mr. Jorle said by telephone from Stockholm. “We cannot confirm whether he is a Swedish national.”

The Thai media passport image presumably is coming from a copy provided here by Thai police. Perhaps, unless the ministry guy above is mistaken, the passport the guy was carrying has been altered???

http://www.nytimes.c...g-material.html

And the Times report adds:

Bangkok is a major hub for passport counterfeiting, drug trafficking and other illicit activities. A history of loose law enforcement has also attracted hundreds of international fugitives over the years. American officials say that Hezbollah does have a footprint here, using Bangkok as a center for a cocaine and money-laundering network.

Edited January 17, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Jingthing]

...

So you have to apply your own filter.

Clearly, your own filter is a doozy.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

There's this report in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet from the 17th that, with Google Translate, includes some interesting tidbits:

http://www.aftonbladet.se/senastenytt/ttnyheter/utrikes/article14226398.ab

Swedish Embassy staff met 47-year-old even today and he says he is treated well under Jörle. The man has been helped by a lawyer.

According to Foreign Ministry, he has lived in Lebanon since 2005, although he still registered in Sweden.

Maybe the arrival of a lawyer is the reason for his new reported story for the use of the chemicals...

[F4UCorsair]

The report, if true, that local Lebanese went to Israeli and US authorities rather than Thai shows great presence of mind in my opinion.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The saying goes, "Where there's smoke there's often fire..."

I'd say, put a suspected Hezbollah member/former barber in a foreign countrytogether with tons of bomb making chemicals, add in countless Thai officials reports that the guy has confessed to being involved in or aware of a bomb making plot, and you likely have more than someone's holiday vacation.

But of course, some won't see it that way, right up until the bomb explodes in their face.

[gopnarak]

The report, if true, that local Lebanese went to Israeli and US authorities rather than Thai shows great presence of mind in my opinion.

Own contacts.

It shows that they have their undercover planted here in Bangkok. Looking for for terrorists, drug rings, copy right violators and producer/traders of conterfeit product, fertilizer exporters and if they can collect some tax from you..

[TantraMantra]

Hmm....they found the chemiclas, where the suspect led them, and he confessed what they were for....so how did this "nothing was found"? All it says is they didn't find prints...

If you choose to understand that no prints = nothing was found, selective reading is a gentle term here.

There's a difference between claiming to be a legitimate political movement in a democratic system and between actually being one. A hint, blowing up your political rivals isn't playing according to democratic "rules". Anywhere.The charges concerening the murder of the Lebabese prime minister have nothing to do with Israel, btw. Also not just "a few states". Bummer.

And once again: Hezbollah DID carry attacks overseas, not just in Lebanon and Israel. Killing uninvolved civilians of those countries. How is this, then, "not their style"?

He confessed what exactly? that he wants to ship the bombs somewhere else or that he wants to bomb beer bars and bagel bakeries in Bangkok?

Keep in mind that it was a statement released by the police chief whos main interests is to spread the massage that the danger is over.

Separate between allegation, speculation and what kind of evidence we actually have.

Try the following angle:

Swedish man, 400 electric fans stored in a ware house, wife said he traveled to Thailand for business and trade opportunities.

fertilizers can be used as fertilizers.

^^ Is that rue or not? suspicious?

A bomb making lab would be hard evidence.

Just being a Lebanese and to store Urea and a link to what is said in the english wikipedia about Hezbollah is not hard evidence.

Agreed, a confession is not evidence. Coercion could be involved so that the Police can tidy things up nicely. Say they caught a culprit. Danger is over. Bring on the tourists.

Have you not heard of innocent 'till proven guilty? Though I'm not sure if that is Thai law.

Can't you see that this could be a US/ISRAEL set up to speed up the coming war with Iran?

Israel has more motive for this event than Hezbollah and are notorious for their dirty tricks...as is USA.

IMHO this Lebanese tourist/buisness man is probably a Stitched up Scapegoat.

Don't believe all what you hear in LOS and even less what you see. ..Probably this will be deleted as similar are.

Edited January 17, 2012 by TantraMantra