A New Zealand company has been linked to a cargo plane seized in Thailand suspected of smuggling North Korea arms this week, possibly to the Middle East.

Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted Georgian officials linking New Zealand registered company SP Trading to renting the plane – an Ilyushin-76 aircraft – to deliver its cargo.

The plane was seized at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport late last week during a refuelling stop. It was discovered that it contained 30 tonnes of weapons from North Korea, which is a violation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang.