Notorious International Arms Merchant, Victor Bout, Arrested in Bangkok...

In a stunning development Wednesday (and as a follow-up to my previous post last year), notorious international arms merchant, Victor Bout, was arrested in a luxury hotel in Bangkok after a month's long joint Thai-U.S. DEA sting operation. The U.S. Justice Department says it is now pursuing extradition of Bout from Thailand and plan to charge him with conspiracy to provide weapons to a foreign terrorist organization. The 41-year-old Russian had allegedly been trying to secure a major weapons deal that included the sale of surface-to-air missiles to US agents posing as Colombian FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels.

Labeled a a narco-terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union, the FARC is the Western Hemisphere's oldest and most developed insurgency, sustained largely through drug trafficking and ransom obtained from kidnappings.

Bout graduated from Moscow's military institute in the early 1990s and was a major in the Soviet KGB. Since leaving the KGB, he has become legendary for his role in the illegal global arms trade from Ostend to Odessa and from Liberia to Kabul. He was dubbed the "merchant of death" and is believed to have inspired Nicolas Cage's character in the 2005 film, Lord of War.

During recorded telephone calls and e-mails, Bout and associate Andrew Smulian agreed to sell the weapons to two underground sources working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who presented themselves as FARC representatives who negotiated with the two arms merchants from November 2007 until February 2008. Smulian is reportedly still being sought by Thai and DEA officials.

Lieutenant-General Pongpat Chayapan, head of the Crime Suppression Bureau, said police executed a warrant from a Thai court, based on a warrant issued in the United States at the request of the US DEA.
Despite U.S. plans to pursue the extradition of Bout from Thailand, Thai authorities have indicated that they plan to prosecute Bout before he is extradited elsewhere. Bout was remanded in custody at the Klong Prem prison otherwise known as the infamous "Bangkok Hilton." Thai Police can detain him for three months, and with the help of U.S. DEA officials say that they expect to finish their investigation in two months before handing their case off to prosecutors.

"Viktor Bout and Andrew Smulian agreed to arm terrorists with high-powered weapons that have fueled some of the most violent conflicts in recent memory," said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia.

Bout's arrest also represents a dramatic reversal of policy when Clinton Administration efforts to arrest Bout were forestalled by National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice--ostensibly based on her determination that resources needed to be directed toward more significant targets; but it's also widely believed that Bout was a contracted agent of the United States with support he leant to U.S. companies like Halliburton and FEDEX in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks.

Perhaps most significant, however, is that Bout was arrested under the apparent direct supervision of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency immediately after Vladimir Putin's departure from the Russian presidency and assumption as Prime Minister. It seems intuitive, therefore--given Bout's strong former KGB/FSB connections in the Kremlin--that the order to arrest Bout was approved in the West Wing by National Security Advisor Steve Hadley with the passive (or active) approval of the President. At the very least, it represents another indirect affront to Putin himself.

Thai police escort Russian Viktor Bout, center, as he arrives at the head of the Crime Suppression Bureau in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday March 6, 2008.

Thai officials will certainly face enormous pressure from Russian authorities to release Bout to their control, rather than extradite him to the United States.
Given Victor Bout's massive cash reserves, his detailed first-hand knowledge of U.S. and Western European corporate corruption, and his extensive contacts at the highest levels of the Kremlin, it would be foolish to discount Victor Bout's ability to arrange his extradition to Moscow, where he would unquestionably be set free.

The wild card that no one has mentioned thus far in relation to Victor Bout's arrest? His older brother, Sergei Bout--who will certainly do his best to free Viktor through any means....