Washington, December 16, 2009 -

Let's just say I wasn't surprised.  This weekend an Ilyushin-76 transport plane was seized and searched by Thai authorities as it was transiting from North Korea through Thailand.  On a U.S. intelligence tip, the Thais uncovered 35 tons of assorted weapons - shoulder-fired missiles, large rockets, RPGs and the like.  The final destination remains unknown.  Guesses range from Burma to Iran to Sudan.  The crew said it believed they were transporting "oil-drilling equipment."   

Pyongyang is a big arms dealer.  Earlier this year, the UAE seized ten containers of North Korean weaponry believed headed to Iran.  This summer, the U.S. Navy trailed the North Korean Kang Nam, believed in route to Burma before it turned back.  Weapons sales earn North Korea hundreds of millions each year, it's estimated.  One South Korean called this weekend's grab the "tip of the iceberg in terms of all of North Korean's illegal arms' smuggling." 

Here's the intrigue.  When I read about the crew --four men from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus-- and a Republic of Georgia registered Ilyushin, I immediately thought of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and his far reaching smuggling network built out of the ashes of the Soviet Union.  So I wasn't surprised when it was reported this morning (WSJ: "Thais Investigate Destination of Weapons Cache") that the plane in question was previously employed by companies linked to Bout.  A report in the Bangkok Post ("Police investigate Bout link") notes that the plane has been documented as trafficking arms to Liberia, Somalia, Sudan, Burundi and the Balkans, Bout's stomping grounds. 

What the Journal didn't mention is the fact that Viktor Bout now sits in a Bangkok prison, facing extradition to the United States to face terrorism charges.  [The plane's crew is being held in a different area of the same prison.] Bout won a court victory in August but his win is being appealed.  He could go free. 

Whether this operation is the Bout network with the CEO on a leave of absence or a competitor's work is worth finding out.  For now, two takeaways are clear: Bout must face justice to deter illicit arms dealing and efforts to check North Korean trafficking must remain sharp.