Bangkok: Police have arrested a key suspect in the Bangkok shrine bombing in a seedy apartment building in a predominantly Muslim area of the Thai capital.

The 28-year-old man, believed to be Turkish, was found in possession of a stack of passports and bomb-making materials, including motorcycle ball bearings similar to those used in the bombing of the Erawan Shrine on August 17.

Late on Saturday he was charged with being in possession of bomb-making materials including pipes and fuses, pending further investigation.

One of the seized passports carrying the man's photograph had two expiry dates, indicating it was a crude forgery.