WASHINGTON — A man in Belgian custody has told U.S. authorities about business ties between the Al Qaeda terrorist network and a Russian arms broker, delivering a breakthrough in long-frustrated efforts to dismantle one of the world's largest weapons-trafficking operations, authorities said.
Belgian and American officials said Friday that Sanjivan Ruprah, a Kenyan diamond mine owner, has offered details to U.S. investigators about business dealings between Al Qaeda and the sprawling arms-trading operation run by Victor Bout, a Russian broker accused of transporting massive quantities of weapons to Africa and Afghanistan in violation of U.N. arms embargoes.
Officials familiar with Ruprah's case and his cooperation with U.S. investigators said his knowledge of Bout's organization could provide vital evidence in learning how terror groups are armed and how international weapons networks operate.
Lee S. Wolosky, a former National Security Council official who headed a U.S. effort to stem Bout's trading, said Ruprah's arrest "is a very significant development in dismantling the Victor Bout organization." Wolosky described it as the "largest arms-trafficking organization in the world."
There were indications, some officials said Friday, that Belgian authorities are on the verge of seeking a warrant for Bout's arrest. One source familiar with the case said it could come "in a matter of days."
Bout has never been charged for his role in clandestine arms trading. International law does not target those who broker arms deals. And governments long have had difficulty building strong cases against Bout, who has used five passports and often moves assets and cargo planes from country to country.
Officials say they are uncertain where Bout is now. Some have suggested that he is in Russia; others say he lives in the United Arab Emirates.
Three United Nations inquiry panels looking into the arming of rebel factions in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Angola have accused Bout of transporting millions of dollars in assault rifles, missile launchers, ammunition and even helicopter gunships. The three panels have a U.N. Security Council mandate to investigate how arms brokers violated sanctions against arms sales to the three war-torn nations.
U.N. investigators have described Ruprah, a Kenyan national who has lived in Belgium for the last year, as a key figure in the arms trade.
