Thai authorities will help Indonesian police to arrest the suspects involving in the Bali bomb attacks if they fled into Thailand, a senior official of the Thai National Police has said in Bangkok.
Somchart Sawangnet, commander of the Foreign Affairs Division of Thai National Police said that Indonesian police were sending the pictures and other details of suspects to Thai side, but Jakarta was not "totally convinced" the suspects had taken refuge in Thailand.
Indonesia has arrested one suspect in the Bali bombing and is attempting to trace other suspects with the assistance of authorities in the region, including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Thai office of Interpol would help with the dissemination of information, even though at this point, Thai police also had no idea if any suspects had arrived in Thailand, said Somchart, who was quoted by the Bangkok Post Tuesday.
Even if the suspects were found, arresting them would be out of the question as they had committed no crime on Thai soil, Somchartnoted. Jakarta should make a request through diplomatic channels for their arrest and extradition to stand trial if the Indonesian authorities located the suspects in Thailand, he added.
Meanwhile, Thai police chief Sant Sarutanont signed a memorandum with Australian police Monday on the prevention of international terrorism. Sant Sarutanont said Australian police did not believe there was a Thai connection to the Bali bombing.
(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2002)
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