5 foreigners charged with arms smuggling in Thailand after plane from North Korea seized

5 charged after NKorean weapons seized in Thailand

BANGKOK — Five foreigners who crewed an aircraft carrying tons of weapons originating in North Korea were charged with arms smuggling in Thailand on Sunday.

Police Col. Supisarn Pakdinarunart said the men — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — denied the charges and were refused bail. They will appear in court Monday.

The men were detained and their foreign-registered aircraft impounded after it landed in the Thai capital Saturday with about 35 tons of weapons, Thai officials said. The cache included explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles.

Air Force spokesman Capt. Montol Suchookorn said the chartered cargo plane, an Ilyushin 76 transport, originated in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang and requested to land at Bangkok’s Don Muang airport to refuel.

North Korea has been widely accused of violating United Nations sanctions by selling weapons to nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Local press reports said Thai authorities were tipped off by their American counterparts about the cargo aboard the aircraft. Officials at the U.S. Embassy could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.

There were differing local media reports about the plane’s destination with some saying it was headed to Sri Lanka and others saying Pakistan.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it would take several days to obtain details on the incident, which would be reported to the United Nations, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

“People should not be alarmed because the government will ensure that the investigation will be carried out transparently. The government will be able to explain the situation to foreign countries,” Suthep said.

Thai authorities said the weapons were moved by trucks amid high security Saturday night from the airport to a military base in the nearby province of Nakhon Sawan.