Scammer
Banned
Alleged international arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as "The Merchant of Death," is flown to the U.S. from Thailand to face terrorism charges, Thai police say.
Bangkok, Thailand -- An accused international arms dealer known as "The Merchant of Death" was extradited to the United States on terrorism charges Tuesday, Thai police said.
Viktor Bout left Thailand on a U.S.-chartered jet, said police Col, Supisarn Bhakdinarunart, chief of the Crime Suppression Bureau.
Six agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration escorted Bout, the chief said.
The plane left about 1:30 p.m., after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva cleared the last obstacle for Bout's extradition.
The former Soviet military officer has been indicted by U.S. authorities on a series of charges, including counts of illegally purchasing U.S. cargo planes to ferry weapons to warring parties and regimes in Africa and the Middle East.
Bout was arrested in Bangkok in March 2008. DEA agents led a sting operation by posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Bout had been in Thai custody since.
Bout has repeatedly said he has broken no law and that the allegations against him are lies.
He is accused of supplying weapons to war zones around the world, from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan.
The United States has charged Bout with agreeing to sell surface-to-air missiles, armor-piercing rocket launchers, "ultralight" airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles and other weapons to FARC.
U.S. authorities accuse Bout of four terrorism offenses: conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile, and conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization -- a designation given to FARC by the U.S. State Department.
Bout allegedly began building his arms business as the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s. He acquired surplus Soviet planes and started shipping arms and ammunition to conflict zones, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.