Who Is Viktor Bout And Why Was Arms Dealer In Swap For Brittney Griner In Jail?

The notorious Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout is being swapped jails and returned back to Russia. Being one of the high-profile Russians in U.S. custody, Russia has persistently campaigned for his return. This former Russian military officer will be traded for the US basketball star Brittney Griner.

Bout had been convicted in 2011 and the attorney general at that time had called him “one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers“. Though found guilty and imprisoned for 25 years, the arms dealer has always denied accusations that he has worked for Russian intelligence agencies. But the experts like to differ. Here’s more about the notorious criminal.

Viktor Bout: A Prolific Arms Dealer

Bout started as a young man from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan who enrolled in the Soviet Military at the age of 18. He served in the Army for a short term and then went on to study Portuguese at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow. This helped Bout to enter the Russian intelligence service and finally became an Air Force officer. Later Bout left the military.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the deteriorating economic conditions of Russia, the former military officer moved to UAE. Here he started a cargo business that flourished.

Military supplies were easily available in the black market after the Soviet Union disintegrated. And Bout sold these arms to militants and terrorists around the world. Bout had sold military equipment to Al Queda, the Taliban, and to the governments and rebel groups of many African countries.

The Notorious Arms Dealer Ends Up In Jail

The arms dealer became more notorious due to his ability to easily escape the authorities. This arms dealer has been efficient enough to rescue his crew from the Taliban in 1995.

But finally, the US authorities got hold of Bout in 2008 in Bangkok. He had come there to meet rebels from Columbia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces. But in reality, it was undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agents. When the agents confided to him that the arms were used to kill American pilots, Bout agreed that the two had “the same enemy.”

The Thai authorities arrested him and handed him over to the US in 2010. Two years later, Bout was sentenced to 25 years of prison. Since then Russia has been trying to prove his innocence and to swap him for other detainees. The Nicolas Cage movie of 2005, ‘Lord Of War’ is based on Bout and his ventures.