LONDON, 28 August 2005 — Britain has requested the extradition of an Algerian man arrested in Bangkok with 180 false passports, Scotland Yard and the Foreign Office said yesterday.
Thai police reportedly suspect Atamnia Yachine, 33, who was arrested Wednesday, is linked to the four suicide bombers who killed 52 people and injured 700 by exploding rucksack bombs on three underground trains and a bus in the British capital on July 7. British officials, however, would not confirm any link.
“We are seeking his extradition. We had an arrest warrant issued by Bow Street Magistrates Court on Aug. 24 on suspicions of offenses of conspiracy to make and distribute false passports and offenses of money laundering,” a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
“He has been arrested and we are working with the Thai authorities to seek his extradition. We certainly hope we will (succeed).” The spokesman said he could not confirm a report in the Thai paper The Nation that Yachine supplied false travel documents to the July 7 bombers.
A Foreign Office spokesman also confirmed Britain was seeking the Algerian’s extradition, but said he could not say if Yachine was linked to the attacks. “We’re working with the Thai authorities to seek his extradition to the UK,” the spokesman said.
A British official speaking on condition of anonymity said allegations that Yachine supplied the bombers with travel documents was speculation.
Thai police chief Gen. Suwat Thamrongsrisakul told The Nation that British investigators had made clear their suspicions about Yachine.
The European Union has long accused Thailand of being a hub for document forgery. On Aug. 3, a 35-year-old British man of Algerian origin, Mahieddine Daikh, was arrested in Bangkok for trying to smuggle more than 450 forged European passports out of Thailand to Scotland.
