Thai authorities" high-profile inspection of 35 tons of North Korean weapons was nearing completion today, as clues emerging around the world shed light on the business of arms trafficking _ and the lengths smugglers take to hide their identities, according to AP. Two weeks after Thai authorities impounded the aircraft and arrested its five-man crew, the key questions of who organized the shipment and where it was headed remain unanswered. But a trail of companies and fake addresses from New Zealand to Barcelona has illustrated how the traffickers bounced around the globe to lightly regulated countries to disguise their movements. Over the past few months, they created a complex web of holding companies that facilitated the flight in an apparent effort to evade U.N. sanctions on North Korea. The Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane was intercepted during a Dec. 12 refueling stop in Bangkok, thanks to a tip from the United States. Its crew _ four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus _ has denied any knowledge of arms aboard the plane, which Thai authorities say included explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles. Pending more investigations, a Thai court Friday ordered the crew members to remain in prison 12 more days.
