December 14, 2009
BANGKOK (AFP) - Four Kazakhs and a Belarussian were due to appear in court Monday charged with possessing war weapons after flying into Thailand on a cargo plane carrying 30 tonnes of sanctions-busting weapons from North Korea.
The cache, including missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, was discovered after the pilot from Belarus and four other crew from Kazakhstan landed to refuel at Bangkok's domestic Don Mueang airport on Friday, officials said.
Pilot Mikhai Petukhou, 54, and crew members Viktor Abdullayev, 58, Vitaliy Shumkov, 54, Alexandr Zrybner and Ilyas Issakov, both 53, were taken in police vans from the Thai capital's Crime Suppression Bureau to the court building.
Dozens of journalists gathered outside ahead of the hearing, at which police will ask to extend the suspects' detention by 12 days as investigations continue, said national police spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen.
"We will object to bail, this is a serious crime. We will see what the court will decide and if it agrees with us, they will be moved to a prison," Pongsapat told AFP late Sunday.
"We told them that they have been charged with possession of weapons for war," he said. "They said they had no idea what they were transporting."
The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday it was not yet clear why the weapons were being transported.
"We will strictly follow our own laws and UN resolutions. Security and intelligence services are continuing to investigate," he said of Thailand's biggest-ever weapons seizure.
The plane began its journey in North Korea's capital Pyongyang. Abhisit said the weapons came from a North Korean company and the plane was registered in Georgia.
He said the crew requested permission to land for refuelling in Bangkok and then lied to inspectors about the plane's cargo, saying it carried only oil-drilling equipment.
"We received the tip-off from intelligence reports that said this plane was suspicious. When the plane refuelled, we searched it and found the weapons," he said.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said it carried more than 30 tonnes of North Korean weaponry, in breach of UN resolution 1874.
