U.S. and European officials say they have scored an important advance in their efforts to disrupt the biggest weapons-trafficking network in the world, responsible for supplying the Taliban and terrorist groups from al Qaeda in Afghanistan to the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, as well as rebel forces in Africa. For the past three years, U.S. intelligence agencies have been trying to thwart the sprawling arms empire of Victor Bout, a former Soviet military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. Bout's network is unique because of its ability to deliver sophisticated weapon systems virtually anywhere in the world. Bout specialized in breaking arms embargoes around the world. He traffics almost exclusively in weapons bought in the former Soviet bloc, chiefly Bulgaria and Romania.
Sanjivan Ruprah, a suspected top associate of Bout's is under arrest in Belgium, and investigators say he is providing fresh, inside information on how the arms network functions. While Bout has long been suspected of supplying weapons to the Taliban, officials said intelligence gathered in recent months in Afghanistan and elsewhere has provided new details. Before the arrest, Ruprah, had secretly been in contact with U.S. officials, providing them with information about Bout.
"Oh, ye masters of war..." |