BANGKOK: A Russian arms dealer, accused of flouting UN embargoes and wanted by Interpol, was arrested at a five-star hotel in Bangkok last night.Viktor Bout, dubbed the "Merchant of Death", was arrested in the heart of the city on a warrant issued by a Thai court on charges of attempted mass murder, Police Lieutenant General Pongpat Chayapan, head of the Crime Suppression Bureau, said.
"He is now in the custody of the Crime Suppression Division. We will take legal action against him here, before deporting him to face trial in another country, likely the US," he said. "We have followed him for several months. He just came back to Thailand today."
A US embassy spokesman congratulated the Thai police for the arrest but could not provide details about the role the Americans played in it.
A former Soviet air force officer, Bout is wanted by Interpol for allegedly violating UN arms embargoes to several countries in Africa. He has been accused of supplying notorious Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, Congolese rebels and Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
Bout allegedly has been trafficking weapons to Central and West Africa since the early 1990s. UN reports say he set up a network of more than 50 aircraft around the world, and trade experts have said the illicit diamond trade was likely to have been one source of funds for his smuggled arms shipments. Although Bout has been investigated by police in several countries, he has never been prosecuted for arms dealing.
His life was the inspiration for Nicolas Cage's character in the 2005 film Lord of War.
People with Viktors' connections never "just get arrested". And the timing of these things are rarely by "coincidence". Most importantly these things always have "consequences".