Bangkok Post
Writer: Maxmilian Wechsler
If the pending decision to drop charges against the crew of a Russian cargo plane accused of smuggling weapons from North Korea has shocked observers, it comes as no surprise to many close to the mysterious case.
A three-week investigation by the Bangkok Post during which intelligence officers, senior Thai police and foreign diplomats were interviewed has revealed scepticism about the operation and the motives behind the seizure of the Ilyushin IL-76 plane at Don Mueang Airport in early December.
Questions were raised about why a plane carrying 35 tonnes of weapons allegedly from North Korea, in breach of UN sanctions, would stop to refuel in Bangkok when there are safer regional stopover destinations for arms smugglers such as Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
The circuitous 24,000km route, with the alleged final destination Iran, also did not make sense for several diplomats who said the weapons could be easily sourced from former Soviet countries.
During the course of the investigation, the Bangkok Post also learned that after the flight from Pyongyang the plane arrived a day earlier than originally reported by Thai authorities and that the five-man crew spent a night at a hotel near the airport accompanied by what appeared to be Thai security staff.
Questions were raised about why a plane carrying 35 tonnes of weapons allegedly from North Korea, in breach of UN sanctions, would stop to refuel in Bangkok when there are safer regional stopover destinations for arms smugglers such as Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
The circuitous 24,000km route, with the alleged final destination Iran, also did not make sense for several diplomats who said the weapons could be easily sourced from former Soviet countries.
During the course of the investigation, the Bangkok Post also learned that after the flight from Pyongyang the plane arrived a day earlier than originally reported by Thai authorities and that the five-man crew spent a night at a hotel near the airport accompanied by what appeared to be Thai security staff.
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