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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

'Merchant of Death' guilty on all counts

Federal agents escorted Viktor Bout from a DEA charter flight on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010.


An arms dealer once known as the "Merchant of Death" has been convicted of trying to sell heavy weapons to a Colombian terror group.

A federal jury in New York reached the verdict Wednesday against Viktor Bout.

Bout was arrested in a 2008 sting involving US informants posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Prosecutors claimed secret recordings showed the former Soviet military officer thought he could make millions by supplying weaponry to the rebels. They said the fake buyers made it clear they wanted to attack US personnel aiding the Colombian government.

The defense insisted Bout had retired from dealing arms when an undercover US agent lured him into the negotiations. His lawyers said he only wanted to unload two old cargo planes.

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