FILE PHOTO: Suspected Russian arms dealer Bout is escorted by DEA officers after arriving in New York(Reuters) - Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer who was jailed in the United States and then swapped two years ago for the U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, is back in international arms trade, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The potential arms transfers are yet to be delivered, the WSJ reported. Bout was one of the world's most wanted men prior to his 2008 arrest in Thailand on multiple charges related to arms trafficking. For almost two decades, Bout was one of the world's most notorious arms dealer, selling weaponry to rogue states, rebel groups and murderous warlords in Africa, Asia and South America. His notoriety was such that his life helped inspire a Hollywood film, 2005's Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer loosely based on Bout.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 07, 2024 03:45 UTC