Warrant issued over Saudi murder

Pol Colonel Thawee Sodsong, director of the DSI, said his department had gathered enough evidence to charge Abu Ali for the murder of one of four Saudis, Abdullah A. al-Besri, who was gunned down in Bangkok in January 1990.

Al-Besri and the three others- two diplomats and a private citizen - were assigned to look into the highly publicised Saudi diamond scandal that shattered diplomatic ties between Thailand and Saudi Arabia. One diplomat was killed in 1989, two others Saudis died with al-Besri the following year.

Thawee did not say why it has taken nearly two decades to file charges against the suspect, whose whereabouts are unknown.

The original theft was committed by Thai labourer Kriangkrai Techamong, who was working at Prince Faisal's palace in Saudi Arabia in 1989.

Observers said the case, if fully exposed, could bring down a number of senior Thai government and police officials responsible for substituting the retrieved jewellery with crude fakes, including an imitation of the "priceless" Blue Diamond.

Police Lt-General Chalor Kerdthes, the former crime-buster at the centre of the scandal, is currently serving a life sentence for masterminding the killing of the wife and son of a jewellery dealer, Santi Srithanakhan, who was linked to the case.

Bilateral ties between the two countries took a nosedive following the murder of the three diplomats and another Saudi citizen in Bangkok.

Efforts have been made to upgrade relations, but the Saudis have said full diplomatic ties will only return if the murder cases are resolved and the real Blue Diamond taken during the theft is found and returned.