UDON THANI — Officials at Udon Thani International Airport were alarmed after detecting explosive precursor materials in a Swedish passenger’s luggage, prompting them to call in an EOD unit for investigation.
At 8:00 p.m. on April 17, Thipawan Wangsanuwat, Director of Udon Thani International Airport, notified Udon Thani City Police Station that a male Swedish passenger had left some of his luggage behind under suspicious circumstances. The authorities requested additional support from relevant agencies.
CCTV footage revealed the luggage belonged to Eric, 58, who was traveling from Udon Thani Airport to Suvarnabhumi Airport on AirAsia flight FB 4353, departing Udon Thani at 8:20 p.m. He left the suspicious items at Terminal 2 of the airport.
When notified, officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport located Eric, who was uncooperative and subsequently detained pending investigation. Examination of the suspicious items revealed “Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP),” an explosive precursor. K9 units were called in for additional screening, and a “Taylor Tank Bomb” (blast reducer) was moved to the location where the bag was found.
After all airlines had their last passengers depart, EOD Unit 23 from Udon Thani (Royal Thai Air Force) conducted the removal operation with support units standing by. After about 30 minutes, they concluded there were no dangerous materials or illegal items present.
Eric, the Swedish owner of the luggage, later admitted the bag contained used clothes and Thai herbs he intended to take back to Sweden but had decided not to bring aboard due to issues. This matched the contents found in the bag: unwashed used clothes, personal items, and dried herbs including butterfly pea flowers, roselle, bael fruit, and others.
Officials concluded that the explosive precursor detection might have come from the passenger’s clothes if he had been in places related to explosives, sound and light shows, or traditional Isan firecrackers and rocket festivals. They emphasized that all security procedures were properly followed.
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