The aircrew were apprehended by Thai authorities after a tip-off from the US CIA that the aircraft was carrying an illegal weapons shipment out of North Korea.
The Il-76 was found to be carrying 35 tonnes of missiles, including surfaceto- air missiles and rocket launchers. The aircraft’s five crew from Kazakhstan and Belarus, have maintained their innocence claiming that they were told they were carrying oil-drilling equipment.
The Wall Street Journal claims that a flight plan for the aircraft revealed it was due to make refueling stops in Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine before going on to Tehran where it would unload its cargo.