Four Burmese nationals were arrested for allegedly flying drones over a Thai airport despite a drone ban.

The suspects sparked panic when they operated the drones near Suvarnabhumi International Airport serving Bangkok on December 21.

Police today raided the Grand BS Airport Hotel Suvarnabhumi, believed to be the hideout of the drone users.

They arrested Zwe Htet Aung, 32, Sa Nay Lin Htet, 24, Kyaw Zin Hein, 21, and Thein Zaw, 34, and seized 10 DJI drones from two hotel rooms.

The men allegedly admitted that they were tasked to collect the drones in Thailand before dismantling them into parts to be flown to Myanmar for resale to the Burmese military.

Authorities identified the Thai buyer as Ratchaphon Porncheevachod, who had ordered 7.5 million baht (178,431 GBP) of DJI drones at the request of his Burmese friend, Kevin Cho. The pair had bought the drones from Thailand, citing cheaper prices.

Police Major General Prasong Arnmanee, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 3, said: 'We seized all of the drones and handed them to the inquiry officer at Lat Krabang Police Station for investigation.

‘We have to wait for Ratchaphon to fly back from Oman and bring evidence to the inquiry officer.

‘We also proceeded with the visa revocation of the four Burmese men in coordination with the commander of Immigration Division 1 and detained them in holding cells for further investigation.'

Police said Ratchaphon worked at Singaporean drone manufacturer TRD Systems Pte Ltd, whose drones were seized by Thai authorities amid a drone ban in August.

Officials have not clarified why the Burmese men were flying drones near Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand issued drone curbs in seven zones on December 9, amid the territorial conflict along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Drone flights were banned in seven border provinces, as well as areas within a nine-kilometre (five miles) radius of designated airports.

(1 GBP = 42.03 THB)