Belarus pilot arrested in Thailand faces death sentence
The crew of the Ilyushin-76 cargo plane where the police of Bangkok found 35 tons of weapons is facing capital punishement, the Thai media reported.
Flight engineer of this crew is Mikhail Petukov of Belarus. Thai police authorities have announced the pilots are charged with illegal storage of explosives.
Under the local laws, this offence is subject to imprisonment from two years to death sentence. Meanwhile, speculations about the destination of the cargo are in full swing.
During interrogations, the pilots said that the plane originated from Ukraine, loaded weapons in North Korea and was en route back to Ukraine.
The British newspaper Guardian recently reported that the plane took off from Belarus and stopped in Ukraine for refuelling. Official Minsk has strongly refuted this information.
Flight engineer of this crew is Mikhail Petukov of Belarus. Thai police authorities have announced the pilots are charged with illegal storage of explosives.
Under the local laws, this offence is subject to imprisonment from two years to death sentence. Meanwhile, speculations about the destination of the cargo are in full swing.
During interrogations, the pilots said that the plane originated from Ukraine, loaded weapons in North Korea and was en route back to Ukraine.
The British newspaper Guardian recently reported that the plane took off from Belarus and stopped in Ukraine for refuelling. Official Minsk has strongly refuted this information.
