One of the most notorious arms dealers in the world, Viktor Bout has been traded with Russia on November 8, 2022, in exchange for the US basketball star Brittney Griner. Bout was one of the criminals whom the US wanted to capture for a very long time. Through the years, this figure has been called the “merchant of death”.
Bout had started his venture as a cargo business but ended up selling arms to terrorist groups, governments, and rebel groups in the African subcontinent. The former Russian military officer had been accused of “conspiring to kill Americans, to supply anti-aircraft missiles, and of aiding a terrorist organization“. Here’s more about this criminal.
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Viktor Bout: Merchant Of Death
The notoriety of Viktor Bout increased as he was very difficult to capture. And the US had been wanting to arrest him for a very long time. Finally, he was caught after a sting operation conducted by the US Drug Enforcement Agency in Thailand in 2008. The infamous arms dealer was handed over to the US in 2010.
In the US court, Viktor Bout had claimed to be innocent. In addition, he said that he was “wrongly accused” of arming the South American rebels.
While during the sting operation, the DEA agents were disguised as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia. When they said that the arms would be used to kill American pilots, Bout agreed that they had “the same enemy“.
The name “the merchant of death” attributes to his ability to trade around arms embargoes. He is also called the “sanctions buster” for the same reason.
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Brittney Griner Returns To US
The US basketball star, Brittney Griner was arrested on February 17 at the Moscow airport. She faced charges as she carried vape catridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Cannabis oil is a banned item in Russia. Thus she faced nine years in a penal colony for smuggling and possessing drugs.
There had been talks to initiate her release until things became rough after the start of the Ukrainian war. Finally, she is out of Russian custody in a prisoner swap with Viktor Bout. The exchange took place at the Abu Dhabi airport, where private planes bought the convicts from Washington and Moscow.
Read More: Who Is Viktor Bout And Why Was Arms Dealer In Swap For Brittney Griner In Jail?
