Case of Il-76 detained in Thailand sent to Office of Public Prosecutor

The police investigation of the case of the crew of the Il-76 detained in Thailand with North Korean weapons on board in December 2009 has been finished. RIA “Novosti” has informed about it referring to a Thai newspaper The Nation. According to the edition, the police sent the case to the Office of Public Prosecutor on January 13. According to the local legislation, it will consider the documents presented by investigators and decide wether there is any corpus delicti. If there is no corpus delicti or no proofs, the court will close the criminal case and release the detained.

The Il-76 was detained by the Thai authorities during a technical top-up landing in Bangkok at the beginning of December, reminds BerlaPAN. Weapons were found on board the plane during a search - grenade cup discharges, details of portable anti-aircraft missile systems and explosives. The weapons were hidden in boxes marked as civil freight.

The crew consisting of four citizens of Kazakhstan and Belarusian Mihail Petuhou are accused of illegal weapon storage and presenting false information about the freight to the Thai authorities. The crew claim they did not know anything about the freight sealed in boxed.