Arms dealer Bout gets 25 years in prison Viktor Bout, a former Soviet military officer, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday by a US judge for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to US agents posing as members of Farc, the Colombian guerrilla group. The sentencing follows a November conviction by a federal jury in Manhattan of Mr Bout on four counts of conspiracy: to kill US nationals, to kill US officers, to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation. Preet Bharara, Manhattan US attorney, said: "Viktor Bout has been international arms trafficking enemy number one for many years, arming some of the most violent conflicts around the globe. He was finally brought to justice in an American court for agreeing to provide a staggering number of military grade weapons to an avowed terrorist organisation committed to killing Americans. Mr Bout was extradited to the US in November 2010, despite stiff protest from Russian officials, after a high-profile sting operation conducted by the US government ended with his arrest in March 2008. In the operation, members of the Drug Enforcement Agency posed as members of Farc and arranged to purchase from Mr Bout millions of dollars of weapons including 20,000 AK-47 firearms, five tons of C-4 plastic explosives, aeroplanes outfitted with grenade launchers and unmanned aerial vehicles. Mr Bout has maintained his innocence throughout his arrest and his conviction. Mr Bout, who ran a cargo airline using underutilised Soviet-era aircraft, was dubbed the "Merchant of Death" by a British politician for his alleged notorious career as a weapons transporter. US officials allege that in his career Mr Bout has armed members of the Taliban and provided weapons that have stoked civil wars across Africa, including in Angola and Liberia. He is also said to have served as the real life inspiration for the Hollywood film The Lord of War, about an international arms trafficker played by Nicolas Cage. "Today's sentence is a fitting coda for this career arms trafficker of the most dangerous order," Mr Bharara added.