U.S. officials said today they will seek extradition of an infamous Russian arms dealer known as the "merchant of death" who was lured out of hiding and arrested in Thailand in an intricate sting by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Viktor Bout, a former Soviet air force officer who has multiple aliases, has been hit with numerous international and U.S. financial sanctions for his longtime role as a suspected arms dealer to some of the world's most notorious terrorist and insurgency groups, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.U.S. and Thai officials said Bout was arrested in Bangkok on a warrant from the DEA, which alleges that the Russian was about to close a deal to supply as much as $15 million worth of missiles and military assault rifles to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Known by its Spanish initials, FARC, the group is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
The deal was part of a sting arranged by the DEA using undercover informants who posed as FARC operatives and convinced Bout to leave the safety of Russia to finalize the transaction, according to a complaint unsealed this afternoon in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. One of Bout's close associates, Andrew Smulian, was also arrested, authorities said.
Bout's odds-defying career as an amoral arms merchant who often supplied both sides in military conflicts has been the subject of lengthy journalistic exposes, a recent book and, loosely, the Hollywood movie "Lord of War," starring Nicolas Cage. He is believed to have at least five passports and to be fluent in six languages, according to media and government reports. He is believed to have been born in Tajikistan in 1967, according to the DEA complaint.
Bout operates a broad network of delivery companies with as many as 50 cargo planes, primarily old Soviet aircraft, that specialized in running supplies to conflict zones. His alleged customers over the years have included al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, former Liberian despot Charles Taylor, Unita rebels in Uganda, the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone, and rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s. Cargo companies connected to Bout also were linked to hundreds of supply flights into Iraq for private contractors and the U.S. military early in the Iraq war.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Bout in 2004 for alleged war profiteering because of his ties to Taylor, and froze the assets of 30 companies and four individuals linked to Bout in 2006. Bout also is accused of violating United Nations arms embargoes.
In an interview with the Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy in 2002, Bout denied many of the allegations, saying he does "aviation lifts. This is my main business." He said he "never supplied anything to or had contacts with the Taliban or al-Qaeda," and did not have multiple passports."It sounds more like a Hollywood blockbuster," he said. "It seems so interesting to find a Russian track in it."
The news agency RIA-Novosti said Russian officials may seek Bout's extradition home if they get to review Thai investigative materials, but Bout could be in the United States before that happens. Interfax, citing an anonymous Russian law enforcement source, said there is no criminal case against Bout in Russia.
by Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 6 March.
Viktor Bout, a former Soviet air force officer who has multiple aliases, has been hit with numerous international and U.S. financial sanctions for his longtime role as a suspected arms dealer to some of the world's most notorious terrorist and insurgency groups, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.U.S. and Thai officials said Bout was arrested in Bangkok on a warrant from the DEA, which alleges that the Russian was about to close a deal to supply as much as $15 million worth of missiles and military assault rifles to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Known by its Spanish initials, FARC, the group is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
The deal was part of a sting arranged by the DEA using undercover informants who posed as FARC operatives and convinced Bout to leave the safety of Russia to finalize the transaction, according to a complaint unsealed this afternoon in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. One of Bout's close associates, Andrew Smulian, was also arrested, authorities said.
Bout's odds-defying career as an amoral arms merchant who often supplied both sides in military conflicts has been the subject of lengthy journalistic exposes, a recent book and, loosely, the Hollywood movie "Lord of War," starring Nicolas Cage. He is believed to have at least five passports and to be fluent in six languages, according to media and government reports. He is believed to have been born in Tajikistan in 1967, according to the DEA complaint.
Bout operates a broad network of delivery companies with as many as 50 cargo planes, primarily old Soviet aircraft, that specialized in running supplies to conflict zones. His alleged customers over the years have included al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, former Liberian despot Charles Taylor, Unita rebels in Uganda, the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone, and rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s. Cargo companies connected to Bout also were linked to hundreds of supply flights into Iraq for private contractors and the U.S. military early in the Iraq war.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Bout in 2004 for alleged war profiteering because of his ties to Taylor, and froze the assets of 30 companies and four individuals linked to Bout in 2006. Bout also is accused of violating United Nations arms embargoes.
In an interview with the Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy in 2002, Bout denied many of the allegations, saying he does "aviation lifts. This is my main business." He said he "never supplied anything to or had contacts with the Taliban or al-Qaeda," and did not have multiple passports."It sounds more like a Hollywood blockbuster," he said. "It seems so interesting to find a Russian track in it."
The news agency RIA-Novosti said Russian officials may seek Bout's extradition home if they get to review Thai investigative materials, but Bout could be in the United States before that happens. Interfax, citing an anonymous Russian law enforcement source, said there is no criminal case against Bout in Russia.
by Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 6 March.
|