It's open-and-shut coverage by the Boston Globe:
"‘Merchant of death’ suspect faces US trial" October 11, 2011|Associated Press
WASHINGTON - For nearly two decades, Viktor Bout ruled an empire of the air. He dispatched a private fleet of long-haul cargo planes that spanned the globe, shipping heavy machinery, frozen chickens, and more. The Russian businessman is grounded now, facing trial this week in a New York federal courtroom on weapons smuggling charges.
Western governments insist that Bout’s real specialty was arranging delivery of tons of weapons that inflamed violence across the world’s war zones.
A former Soviet military officer with command of four languages, Bout is known as the “Merchant of Death,’’ the nickname long used by American and international officials to describe his suspected prominence in the illicit arms trade.
He has been banned from international travel for violating United Nations arms embargos and targeted by a US asset freeze. He inspired the role of the fictitious arms trafficker played by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 action film, “Lord of War.’’
He is believed to have amassed a fortune estimated as high as $6 billion. His clients, according to official investigations, included African dictators Moammar Khadafy, Charles Taylor, and the Taliban mullahs who once ran Afghanistan. Planes linked to his network even flew supplies to Iraq for the US armed forces.
Bout, 44, eluded arrest until US narcotics agents lured him to Thailand in a 2008 sting operation, charging him with conspiring to sell antiaircraft missiles and other weapons to undercover informants posing as South American terrorists....
His arrest was a high point in efforts to stem the flow of black market arms, but the case has set off Cold War echoes. For Russia, Bout’s prosecution is seen as American overreach, stoking fears he will open up about his ties to Russia’s military and intelligence circles.
US prosecutors will face defense questions about the sting’s validity and his treatment by federal agents....
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"‘Merchant of Death’ arms dealer convicted" November 03, 2011|Associated Press
NEW YORK - A notorious Russian arms dealer accused of evading authorities for years while fueling violence in war zones around the globe was convicted yesterday in swift fashion in a US courtroom on charges he conspired to sell weaponry to South American terrorists.
Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,’’ looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as a jury forewoman read guilty verdicts on each of four conspiracy counts....
The outcome was immediately applauded by those who labored to bring Bout to justice before he was finally snared in an elaborate Drug Enforcement Administration sting in Thailand in 2008 and - over the objections of Russia - extradited last year to the United States.
“The guy was without a doubt one of the most dangerous of his kind on the face of the earth, and it’s reassuring to know he’ll be locked up behind bars where he belongs,’’ said Michael Braun, a former DEA official involved in the investigation. “If he had been allowed to carry on, he would have gone right back doing his dirty business.’’
The evidence proved that Bout, 44, was someone “ready to sell a weapons arsenal that would be the envy of some small countries,’’ US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement....
Yeah, only USrael is allowed to be armed to the teeth.
For nearly two decades, the former Soviet military officer built a worldwide air cargo operation, amassing a fleet of more than 60 transport planes, hundreds of companies, and a fortune reportedly in excess of $6 billion. His exploits were the main inspiration for the Nicholas Cage film “Lord of War.’’
His aircraft flew from Afghanistan to Angola, carrying everything from raw minerals to gladiolas, drilling equipment to frozen fish. But the network’s specialty, according to authorities, was black market arms - assault rifles, ammunition, anti-aircraft missiles, helicopter gunships, and a full range of sophisticated weapons systems, almost always sourced from Russian stocks or from Eastern European factories....
They left out the Iraq missions.
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Related: The Wrong Side of Weapons Smuggling
Slow Saturday Special: Thailand Turns on Lord of War
Must be trying to appease AmeriKa.
Also see: Thaing Up Russia
