The crew of the cargo plane detained in Thailand in December on suspicion of arms smuggling have landed in Kazakhstan, but bad weather delayed their flight home to the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent.
The Novosti Kazakhstan news agency reported that their Air Astana flight from Thailand landed in Almaty on Friday night, but said the arrival of their onward flight in Shymkent had been delayed by 12 hours.
The Il-76 cargo plane was carrying 35 tons of weaponry from North Korea when it was seized during refueling at Bangkok's Don Muang airport on December 12.
A Thai court ruled on Thursday that the plane's five crew - Kazakh citizens Ilias Isakov, Viktor Abdullayev, Alexander Zrybnev and Vitaly Shumkov and Belarusian Mikhail Petukhov - be released.
"My father phoned immediately after landing in Almaty," Yana Abdullayeva told Novosti Kazakhstan. "The conversation was short. My father said he is alright. We are immensely happy."
"Unfortunately, it is unknown whether dad will arrive in Shymkent today, or be delayed in Almaty," she added.
Thai officials have said the weapons shipment, which was being flown from North Korea to an unknown destination, included portable anti-aircraft missile systems and spare parts for ground-to-air missiles.
A United Nations resolution bans the transportation of certain weapons, including conventional arms, to or from North Korea, which is under international sanctions.
The crew members have said they were unaware of the military nature of the cargo. They say they were told the cargo was oil drilling equipment.
The airplane, which is registered in Georgia, and the cargo are expected to be confiscated.
ASTANA, February 13 (RIA Novosti)
