成人快手

Viktor Bout, one of the world's most infamous arms dealers, has been released from US custody as part of a prisoner exchange with US basketball star Brittney Griner.

Bout - widely known as the "merchant of death" - has arrived back in Moscow, Russian media reports.

He had the reputation, before he was caught in Thailand in an FBI sting and extradited to the US, as one of the world's most notorious arms dealers.

One person who's studied Bout deeply is Lee Wolosky. For a time he led the US National Security Council's unit devoted to disrupting Bout's arms trafficking.

"He played a critical role in the international arms trade... all the available evidence then and even now, points to very strong ties with the Russian government."

(Photo: Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is escorted by members of a special police unit after a hearing at a criminal court in Bangkok October 5, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Sukree Sukplang)