How was Viktor Bout caught?
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout, an arms dealer, was born on January 13, 1967, in Russia. He is charged with using his numerous air transport companies to smuggle weapons from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East in the 1990s and early 2000s. He is a businessman and former Soviet military interpreter. Bout was given the…
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout, an arms dealer, was born on January 13, 1967, in Russia. He is charged with using his numerous air transport companies to smuggle weapons from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East in the 1990s and early 2000s. He is a businessman and former Soviet military interpreter. Bout was given the monikers “Sanctions Buster” and “The Merchant of Death” because of his supposedly wide-ranging activities, enormous clientele, and propensity to break embargoes.
How was Viktor Bout caught?
The Extradition Act was invoked by the American ambassador to Thailand, Eric G. John, who asked Thailand to extradite Bout. In August 2010, the Thai High Court ultimately mandated Bout’s extradition. On March 6, 2008, Bout was taken into custody in Thailand on terrorism-related allegations by the Royal Thai Police in coordination with American law enforcement and INTERPOL. Bout was accused of wanting to supply the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) with weapons to use against American forces there, but he refuted the accusations and anticipated not being found guilty.
