Friday, March 7, 2008

Top arms dealer captured in Thailand

Notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, branded the “Merchant of Death” for feeding weapons to conflict zones around the world, was paraded handcuffed by Thai police Friday after his capture in a dramatic sting operation.

The mustachioed Russian's dealings are said to have inspired the Hollywood movie “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage as a ruthless arms trader.

Over the years, he is said to have supplied arms to Afghanistan's hardline Taliban militia, Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terror network, Marxist rebels in South America and former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor.

But the question remains on who will put him to trial. Officials from the United States said Friday they were determined to extradite him on charges of conspiring to sell millions of dollars in weapons to Colombian FARC rebels.

~ read on... ~

No comments:

Post a Comment