The AP ran a story yesterday that said:
Unwinding with bar girls at a beach town came first. Building bombs was allegedly for later.
The three Iranians detained in Bangkok and accused of plotting to attack Israeli diplomats set priorities during their trip to Thailand. They spent several days at a seaside town in the company of prostitutes, soaking up the sun and sin that has attracted many of the world’s unsavory characters.
The “Land of Smiles” has long been a favorite haven for criminals — from Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to gangsters, drug smugglers and pedophiles — drawn by its open-door visa policy, lax law enforcement and huge variety of white sand beaches.
Thailand’s tourism industry rakes in more than $25 billion in revenue a year, accounting for more than 6 percent of the economy. But officials are now questioning if they should roll back the welcome mat a little.
And:
Within days of the terror scare, the Thai Tourism Ministry put on hold a plan to allow visas on arrival to citizens of Middle Eastern countries, including Iran.
Indeed, you can see the much-discussed image of the Iranian men hanging out with their Thai “escorts” — as the Bangkok Post put it — in Pattaya in my previous post.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday that police found a motorcycle — pictured above — they say was purchased by one of the Iranian bombing suspects:
Iranian bombing suspects may have been planning to use a motorcycle to attack their targets in Bangkok.
Police on Saturday found a motorcycle that had been left in Sukhumvit Soi 71 since Tuesday when three bomb blasts rocked the area.
(Image: Bangkok Post.)