Thailand to charge crew members : PM

The plane which was found loading with about 35 tonnes of war weapons including missiles and rocket propelled grenade was impounded as it landed for refuelling at Don Muang Airport.

The five crew members consisted one from Belarus and the rest from Kazakhstan were detained for further questioning.

Abhisit told reporters on Sunday, "We will strictly follow our own laws and UN resolutions. The investigation is progressing. Charges will soon be set."

The prime minister said the authorities did not know where the were bound.

"We are not yet clear why they were transporting these weapons, we only know they were due to refuel in Colombo of Sri Lanka."

"Security and intelligence services are continuing to investigate. It is not yet clear if this is terrorist activity," he said.

Abhisit said the plane start from North Korean capital of Pyongyang and the cache came from a North Korean company and the plane was registered in Georgia.

The crew requested permission to land for refuelling in Bangkok and then lied to inspectors about its cargo, saying it carried only oil drilling equipment.

"They committed two crimes, firstly they gave false information about their cargo, and secondly that cargo was found to be weapons," Abhisit said.

"The plane landed on Friday. 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 explained.