The Nation : Huge weapons shipment found aboard plane seeking refuelling stop en route from N Korea to undisclosed location; E European crew held, as cargo declared as military spare parts More than 35 tonnes of weapons aboard a Russian-made IL76 cargo plane were impounded yesterday after it stopped over at Don Mueang Airport for refuelling.A joint Air Force and police unit searched the aircraft, whose final destination remained unknown, and found military hardware including missile heads, rocket-propelled grenades and surface-to-air missile launchers.
The authorities grounded the plane and also took custody of the five crew on-board, who reportedly came from Belarus and Kazakhstan.
The plane, with code number 4L-AWA, was identified as belonging to an entity in Kazakhstan.
It flew from Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and asked for permission to land to refuel in Bangkok.
Official sources said large metal and wooden crates containing the weapons with a weight of 35-40 tonnes were found in the aircraft.
The pilots and crew were held for questioning. The weapons had been declared as military spare parts.
The weapons were transported from Don Mueang Airport to the Air Force's weapon storage depot in Nakhon Sawan's Takhli district for safe keeping.
Initially, police investigators were told by the crew that the aircraft had stopped over in Bangkok last Friday on its way to North Korea.
All five crew and pilots were charged with breaking Thailand's air traffic law as the plane carried weapons under a false declaration.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he expected more details on the incident in the next few days.
This has nothing to do with the country's national security, he insisted.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, acting government spokesman, said the aircraft was understood to have been registered in an Eastern European country, but he declined to be more specific.
Panitan, an international security expert, also declined to speculate on the aircraft's final destination or its route, saying the sensitive information had yet to be confirmed.
"We need some time to investigate. We cannot just draw conclusions from information we received verbally," he said.
Thailand has to abide by international law, as it is a signatory to the international treaty on weapons transportation.
Unless the weapons were delivered in full compliance with international law, they would be destroyed, Panitan said.
"Transportation of weapons is rare these days. Doing so requires proper declaration and reporting," he said.
However, Panitan - also the PM's deputy secretary-general - declined to comment on whether the incident posed any threat to national security.
Source: The Nation
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