The international arms dealer Victor Bout, who was arrested on Thursday in Bangkok, will be put on trial in Thailand on multiple charges before being extradited to a third country, Thai police said Friday.
Russian national Victor Bout, 41, known as the "Merchant of Death" for allegedly supplying weapons to terrorist groups, was arrested at a Bangkok hotel on Thursday, as a result of cooperation between the Royal Thai Police and the U.S. authorities.
Police Lieutenant General Adisorn Nontree, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, told a news conference in Bangkok on Friday that the U.S. authorities alerted the Thai police that the suspect would travel from Moscow to arrive at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport between March 3-13.
Bout, handcuffed, refused to answer questions at the news conference. He was believed to use Thailand as a venue for negotiating arms deals before being arrested.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bout and his associate Andrew Smulian would face charges for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Feuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) -- designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization based in Colombia.
Both Bout and Smulian are charged with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment.
Smulian is the subject of a manhunt.
Gen. Adisorn said Bout could face up to 10 years in prison or a maximum fine of 200,000 baht (6,250 U.S. dollars) in Thailand if he was found guilty on charges of procuring weapons for terrorists.
Thai police will seek court permission on Saturday to detain Bout without granting bail. The suspect will be put on trial in Thailand before considering requests to extradite him to a third country, Adisorn said.
Thomas Pasquarello, Bangkok-based regional director for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed that the United States intends to extradite Bout from Thailand.
Source: Xinhua
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