Thailand extradites alleged arms dealer Bout to US [November 16 2010]

Thailand extradited accused Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout to the U.S. on Tuesday to face terrorism charges, siding with Washington in a tug of war with Moscow over whether to send him to stand trial or let him go home. The Cabinet approved Bouts extradition Tuesday after a long legal battle, and police said the 43-year-old was put aboard a plane in Bangkok heading for the United States at about 1:30 p.m. (0630 GMT; 1:30 a.m. EST) in the custody of eight U.S. officials.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his Cabinet had approved extradition after acknowledging an earlier appeals court decision that Bout could be legally extradited.

Bout, a former Soviet air force officer who is reputed to have been one of the worlds most prolific arms dealers, was arrested at a Bangkok luxury hotel in March 2008 as part of a sting operation led by U.S. agents. Bout has allegedly supplied weapons that fueled civil wars in South America, the Middle East and Africa, with clients including Liberias Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and both sides in Angolas civil war.