Image: Reuters
Interesting story here in Thailand that involves North Korea, weapons trafficking, and American cooperation with Thai authorities.
Thailand on Sat. late Fri.1 seized a cargo plane loaded with 35 tons of weapons that was on its way from North Korea to Sri Lanka.
The plane’s final destination is unclear, but the Bangkok Post quotes a Thai air force source official as saying the plane was ultimately bound for Pakistan.
The Post says the weapons included rocket propelled grenades, missiles, explosives, another other arms.
Image: Bangkok Post.
The plane landed at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport for refuleing. US authorities tipped off Thailand regarding the illegal payload, and the plane was seized.
Five crew members (pictured here), which Thai media reported are from Kazakhstan and Belarus, have been arrested.
Here are some stories from the NYT, Reuters, BBC, and AFP.
- Corrected Dec. 14 [↩]
I'm Newley Purnell, an American journalist in Bangkok. I report for Bloomberg BNA, ABC News Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more.