Bomb scares trigger unity

NOT INTENDED TO KILL

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Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Sinlert Sukhum confirmed that the devices discovered across Phuket and in neighbouring Phang Nga were not constructed to inflict mass casualties.

“One of the devices was concealed beneath a cement base at Laem Phromthep in an isolated area rarely visited by the public. This strongly suggests there was no intent to harm,” Maj Gen Sinlert said.

Police believe the motive was to create widespread fear and destabilise public confidence, rather than to injure or kill.

Investigations revealed that the suspects used legally registered vehicles to travel into Phuket, passing through checkpoints without raising suspicion. Authorities are also analysing whether the timing and numerical patterns of the incidents carry any hidden significance.

INTERCEPTED

The security threat escalated after two men transporting explosive devices were arrested at a police checkpoint in Phang Nga early on the morning of June 24.

The suspects, identified as Muhamma Wading, 29, from Yaring District, Pattani, and Sulaiman Gasa, 27, from Yarang District, Pattani, were stopped around 3:30am near Phang Nga Provincial Hall while travelling in a black Honda City with Surin licence plates.

A search of the vehicle uncovered a suspicious device — a stopwatch wired to a circuit board — hidden among their clothing and bedding. Further inspection confirmed the device contained explosive materials.

Both men confessed that they had been hired to deliver the vehicle, pre-loaded with explosives, from Baan Sakom in Songkhla Province to Phuket. Their journey took them through Songkhla, Phatthalung, Trang, Krabi and Phang Nga before their arrest.