Thai court orders release of arms cargo plane crew
February 11th, 2010 - 5:54 pm ICT by IANSBangkok, Feb 11 (RIA Novosti) A Thai criminal court Thursday ordered the release of the crew of a cargo plane that was seized with illegal weaponry from North Korea on board, a court spokesman said.
The Il-76 cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of weaponry was seized during refueling at Bangkok’s Don Muang airport Dec 12. The plane’s five crew - four Kazakhs and one Belarusian - were arrested and taken to a Bangkok prison.
The spokesman said the court ruling was handed over to the prison.
Thai officials have said the weapons shipment, which was being flown from North Korea to an unknown destination, included portable anti-aircraft missile systems and spare parts for ground-to-air missiles.
A UN resolution bans the transportation of certain weapons, including conventional arms, to or from North Korea, which is under international sanctions.
The crew members have said they were unaware of the military nature of the cargo. They say they were told the cargo was oil drilling equipment.
On Wednesday, Thailand’s The Nation internet news site quoted a source in the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office as saying the crew members would “most likely” be sent home following their release.
The airplane, which is registered in Georgia, and the cargo will be confiscated, the source said.
- Crew of plane carrying arms may face death sentence - Dec 16, 2009
- Thailand files fresh charges against arms plane crew - Jan 10, 2010
- Thai court detains crew of aircraft carrying weapons - Dec 14, 2009
- Thailand impounds North Korean airplane carrying weapons - Dec 12, 2009
- Thailand to charge crew of aircraft carrying weapons - Dec 13, 2009
- Thai drug organization blamed for killing 13 crew members on Chinese cargo ships - Oct 11, 2011
- Turkey finds nothing illegal in detained Iran cargo plane - Mar 17, 2011
- Venezuela drops arms trafficking charges against US ship - Sep 10, 2012
- 13 Chinese sailors killed after ships hijacked - Oct 10, 2011
- Russian arms dealer Victor Bout arrives in NY after extradition - Nov 17, 2010
- Thai PM Vejjajiva cancels trip to Russia following Bout's controversial extradition - Nov 18, 2010
- China developing high-tech weaponry and equipment: White Paper - Mar 31, 2011
- Cargo Airplane Crashes Adjacent To Karachi Airport - Nov 30, 2010
- Libya jails foreign mercenaries for helping Gaddafi - Jun 04, 2012
- Israel worried over Syrian missiles to Hezbollah - Mar 20, 2012
Tags: air missiles, belarusian, cargo plane, conventional arms, crew members, criminal court, don muang airport, international sanctions, internet news, kazakhs, military nature, missile systems, north korea, oil drilling equipment, plane crew, prosecutor general, ria novosti, thai officials, unknown destination, weaponry