U.S. Wants "Merchant Of Death" Extradited

Suspected Arms Dealer Caught In Thailand; May Have Negotiated Weapons Deal With Terrorists

(AP)  The U.S. is seeking the extradition of a suspected Russian arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death," but for now he will remain in Thailand, where authorities are investigating if he used the country as a base to negotiate a weapons deal with terrorists, officials said Friday.

Viktor Bout, a 41-year-old whose dealings reportedly inspired a 2005 movie about the illicit arms trade, is accused of running weapons to al Qaeda, the Taliban and parties involved in bloody conflicts across Africa. He was arrested at a Bangkok hotel after a four-month sting operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Thai and U.S. authorities said.

"He is called the 'Merchant of Death' and 'Man of War' for a reason," Thomas Pasquarello, regional director of the DEA, said in Bangkok.

American authorities intend to extradite Bout but the timing still has to be "worked out" between the two nations, Pasquarello said.

Thailand is investigating whether Bout was involved in "procuring weapons for terrorists and conspiring with terrorists," Lt. Gen. Adisorn Nontree said.

Authorities in New York unsealed a criminal complaint Thursday charging that Bout conspired to sell millions of dollars in weapons - including 100 surface-to-air missiles and armor-piercing rockets - to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The U.S. considers the leftist rebels, who have been fighting Colombia's government for more than 40 years, a terror group. Bout and associate Andrew Smulian were charged with "conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization."

The DEA was involved because, according to the criminal complaint, the FARC uses weapons to protect its cocaine trafficking business, which helps to finance its operations.

Thai police Col. Petcharat Sengchai said Smulian was still being sought.

Handcuffed and expressionless, Bout was paraded before journalists at the news conference but refused to answer questions.

Regarded as one of the world's most wanted arms traffickers, Bout's alleged list of customers is said to include African dictators and warlords, including Charles Taylor of Liberia, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and both sides of the civil war in Angola.

He is believed to have used a fleet of planes and contacts from his days in the Soviet Air Force to buy weapons in formerly communist Eastern Europe and deliver them to rebel groups around the world.

He is generally believed to have been a model for the arms dealer portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 movie "Lord of War."

The DEA complaint filed in New York federal court reads like a spy thriller, telling how agents infiltrated Bout's organization and posed as FARC rebels. They used at least three informants to reach the reclusive and secretive Bout through Smulian, identified as a business associate.

Meetings between the informants and Smulian took place over four months on the Caribbean island of Curacao and in Copenhagen and Romania to discuss the purchase of armaments and surface-to-air missiles worth millions of dollars, the complaint said, and included air dropping the weapons into FARC territory.

Smulian at one point even suggested Bout could procure helicopter gunships for the rebels.

In New York, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia would not say how much the weapons involved in the alleged deal were worth but said the cost of transporting them alone was set at $5 million. He said the weapons were to be parachuted to FARC fighters in Colombian territory.

U.S. authorities tipped off Thai authorities Monday that Bout was expected to arrive to complete the FARC arms deal and a Thai court issued an arrest warrant the next day, Adisorn said.

Bout arrived from Moscow on Thursday morning and checked into a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok. Within hours, nearly two dozen Thai police and U.S. law enforcement agents poured into the hotel and apprehended him, said police Col. Petcharat Sengchai. He did not resist arrest.

In 2000, Peter Hain, then Britain's Cabinet minister for African affairs, called Bout "the chief sanctions-buster" flouting U.N. arms embargoes on the warring parties in Angola, Sierra Leone, Congo and Rawanda and said he supplied al Qaeda and the Taliban with arms. He dubbed Bout "a merchant of death."

A 2007 book by journalists Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, called "Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible," claims that planes in Bout's fleet made several airdrops of weapons to FARC guerrillas between December 1998 and April 1999.

The book says the flights dropped about 10,000 weapons to the rebels, "enabling them to greatly enhance their military capabilities."

Bout has been investigated by police in several countries, but has never been prosecuted for arms dealing. He has denied being involved in illicit deals: "Never in my life have I done anything that would cause me to hide from anyone," he told a Russian radio interviewer in 2002.

In 2005, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a statement saying Bout has the capacity to transport tanks, helicopters and weapons "by the ton" to virtually any point in the world.

U.N. reports say Bout set up a network of more than 50 aircraft around the world, owned by shadowy companies with names such as Bukavu Aviation Transport, Business Air Services and Great Lakes Business Co.

A U.N. travel ban imposed on Bout that was still current as of last November said he supported former Liberian President Charles Taylor's regime in efforts to destabilize Sierra Leone and gain illicit access to diamonds, which became known as "blood diamonds" for the warring they inspired.

In October 2006, President Bush issued an executive order freezing the assets of Bout and several associates and warlords in Congo and barring Americans from doing business with them.

They were accused of violating international laws involving targeting of children or violating a ban on sales of military equipment to Congo, and Bout had been under similar sanctions since 2004.

[andyli1004]

He headed the guns for drugs operation in Mena Arkansas and Barry Seal, Internet is a good place to share information and meet friends. I recently found a nice web site called pubspa.com where you can meet friends who have same interest in beauty care, massage, wellness and spa treatment. You can also share blog, video, game, photos, etc with people from all over the world. Unlike other online dating sites where you have to pay membership fee, this site is totally free. I already made several interesting friends there.

[mig506]

The commercial deal between Romania and Iran involved delivery the equipments of 2 regiments of A.A. missiles, estimative cost ~ 8-9 million USD. Each regiment composed by 3 launching battery ( L.B.) and 1 technical battery (T.B.). Each L.B. composed by 4 mobile launching ramps ( L.R.)on trucks and 1 mobile radar tracking system ( M.R.T.S.) cm, dm frecvency antennas included.
At least 80-90 missiles, 24 L.R.; 6 M.R.T.S.; 2 complexe T.B. with few mobile components ( missile`s fuell is high toxic and corrosive, a reason to transport and storage separate; ansambly it only before the launching ). For deploy by air the 2 regiments of missile was planned at least 20 flights of wide body aircraft ( IL-76 or B-707 type ) and 6 flights using medium cargo aircraft ( AN-12 ).

[mig506]

The rules for air traffic flow management integration for Civil/military co-ordination are described in Manual Concerning Safety Measures Relating to Military Activities Potentially Hazardous to Civil Aircraft Operations (Doc 9554). As you see on my page the criteria is simple : 1001-1999= Romanian companies for commercial passenger or cargo flight ( for ex. TAROM-ROT ). 2001-3999= foreign companies for commercial passenger or cargo flight ( for ex. Greek Olympic Airways OAL ). 4001-4999 = Romanian Air Force flights on Civilian air routes ( for ex. ROAF ). 7001-7999 = special transport-passenger, VIP priority flights ( head of State ). 8001-8999 = special transport-cargo, arms on board of foreign civilian registred aircraft. Flight Plan ( F.P.) is a document completed only by commander of aircraft. When he loaded a cargo on the departure airport mention it in F.P. field : type of flight. Code ICAO for cargo at board , commercial purpose of flight is N. ( see the document on my page ). The Romanian authorities and the Justice established the IL-76 take of empty for a ferry flight on April 17-th, 1998. But for an empty aircraft the commander no pay taxes on route if only marked at Bucharest, on F.P. code G ( from general aviation ). http://www.myspace.com/val2002

[mig506]

The flight of February 21-st 1998 UZB-3509/3510 operated by Viktor Bout`s aircraft AN-12 registred UK-11639 in connection with israeli admiral ( ret.) Shimon Naor. The agreement of landing and overflight for this flight was eliberated by Romanian Department of Defence-MApN ( Acord de survol nr. 00096/02.98 ). This document mention : the purpose of flight is to transport components of missiles wich property of Army Arsenal ( transporta componente de racheta din Arsenalul Armatei ). For high priority of this flight Romanian Air Force according the military schedule for Air Traffic Controller`s papers ( 8683 specify for special flights-cargo ). The destination of flight is wrong. Nobody find out this type of Romanian AA missiles in Uzbekistan Army or Azerbaidjan Army.The same like the flight of September 29th 1996, the Air company of March 1-st 1998 was MIRAVIA ( flight MRV-601/2 ). And the military schedule for Air Traffic Controller`s papers was 8663. For SFB-1652/3 of April 16-th, 1998,mention again the military schedule for Air Traffic Controller`s papers : 8964, 8929. http://www.myspace.com/val2002

[mig506]

Nobody find out SA-16 type of Romanian AA missiles in Uzbekistan Army or Azerbaidjan Army, only in Iran. The second flight loaded at LROP-Bucharest/Otopeni, military apron was at March 1-st 1998 airport of arrival = OIII Teheran-Mehrabad, Iran . Boeing 707 ex-Santa Lucia`s Oliver North Airways company first registered as J6-SLF, now re-registered in Liberia EL-JNS operated by Sky Air together with Air Atlantic Cargo property of US-Iranian Farhad Azima, aviation magnate and gun-runner, business partnership in Heavy Lift company with arms dealer Victor Bout. He is member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Azerbajan Chamber of Commerce also ( http://www.usacc.org/contents.php?cid=2 ). He donated 1 million USD for presidential campaign of Bill Clinton ( 2000 year ) http://www.wilderness-cry.net/tcn/2001/feb10.html. The third flight with Romanian missilles on board was the incriminated IL-76`s flight of Tigareta 2 ( April 16-th, 1998 ) SFB-1652/3. For details : http://www.myspace.com/val2002

[incog-nito]

If this guy is a merchant of death, what about the U.S. weapons manufacturers that sell arms to other countries? What are they merchants of?

[prinzowhales]

Bush41 still deals in guns...with the Carlyle Group... He headed the guns for drugs operation in Mena Arkansas and Barry Seal, the CIA pilot and renowned drug smuggler who was in the New Orleans Civil Air Patrol with Lee Harvey Oswald, had Bush''s private number when he was set up by a federal judge and gunned down by assassins. Jeb Bush is partnered up with drug lords in Florida businesses.

[prinzowhales]

Bout is Russian (Jewish) Israeli Mafia. While Mossad agents like the Clinton-pardoned Marc Rich the billionaire FBI ten mosted wanted felon specialize is stealing...others like Bout are merchants of death...in this case dealing in second hand goods...unlike Obama''s General Dynamics backers and the other like-scum who back Hillary.

It will be interesting to hear Bout sing. Wayne Madsen has a subscribers-only article on how he could sink dirtbags like terrorist financier Boris Berezovksy who is hiding out with the Pig Queen and her government of gutter animals in London and politicians in the nation''s ***--Washington DC--and the world''s ***...Tel Aviv.

[blondmadison]

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.
NO one is paying attention to Russia or Putnin. They are the dangerous sleepers.

[mickgabe]

Well, as i know T-land well and they (FEDS)don''t physically go and pick up the Russian quickly and he has money. He will definitely "Pay-Off" and Walk! As many criminals before him have done in the past.