Pilot to thai police: we thought weapons were oil rig equipment

As the security alert spread across continents, attention was focused on the Thai interrogation of the five foreign suspects, who reportedly claimed they thought they were transporting heavy equipment for oil rigs.

A North Korean dealer was probably responsible for the impounded consignment, weighing more than 35 tonnes, PM's Secretary-General Panitan Watayagorn yesterday quoted intelligence sources as saying.

"But we don't know to whom these weapons will be delivered," he said.

On Saturday, acting on a tip-off, Thai authorities seized the military weaponry, which included rocket-propelled grenades, surface-to-air missiles and ammunition from the military plane after it landed at the Don Mueang Airport for refuelling.



All five crew members are in police detention. They are Alexander Zrybnev, Viktor Abdullayev, Vitaly Shumkov and Ilyas Isakov from Kazakhstan, and Mikhail Petukhov from Belarus.

They denied charges of possessing war weapons and would defend themselves in court, police said.

Petukhov, who was the pilot, reportedly told interrogators that the plane picked up the goods in North Korea and would offload them in Ukraine.

During a six-hour interrogation by the Crime Suppression Division, he insisted that he had no knowledge about the war materials. Petukhov told investigators that he and his four companions were hired to transport goods and that he would only "provide other information in court".

Petukhov also reportedly admitted delivering such consignments three or four times before. The seized weapons are being stored at an air force arms depot at Takhli air base in Nakhon Sawan province.

The Thai government said this case involved many laws and Bangkok had to comply with the United Nations (UN) resolution. A report would be filed with the UN within 45 days.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who oversees security affairs, will today convene a meeting of security agencies to discuss the case with armed forces chiefs.

Kazakhstan is closely checking developments. "We can neither confirm nor reject this [registration] information so far. We are clarifying the circumstances of the incident through diplomatic channels, and the possibility of the aircraft's affiliation with Kazakh air companies," Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov told RIA Novosti.

Where the weapons would be delivered also was not clear. Thai police said the plane was bound for a Middle East country. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka yesterday denied it was the destination. The pilot claimed the shipment was bound for Ukraine.

South Korean officials were on high alert.

"If the Thai government's announcement is true that North Korean weapons were on board, measures should be taken against the apparent violation of UN resolutions," an official at Seoul's Foreign Ministry said on condition of anonymity.

En route to Pyongyang, the plane refuelled three times - in Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Thailand - the pilot reportedly said. The flight plan was to stop for refuelling at Don Mueang and Sri Lanka and drop off the cargo in Ukraine.

Insisting that he had no knowledge about the war material aboard the aircraft, Petukhou told investigators that he and his four companions were hired to transport goods and that he would only "provide other information in court."

Police are scheduled to escort them to the Criminal Court today to seek further detention for interrogation.