Security officers from the Special Operations Unit stand guard while a procession of vehicles escort suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout as he leaves from Bangkwang Central Prison in Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, November 16, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

BANGKOK - Thai cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning resolved to extradite an alleged Russian arms trafficker, Viktor Bout, to stand trial in the US court.

The 43-year-old former Soviet air force officer, dubbed the "Merchant of Death", flown out of Thai capital Bangkok on a 20-seat US jet at around 1:30 pm, one and a half hour earlier than the original schedule of 3 pm.

Being escorted by twenty commando police of Crime Suppression Division (CSD) together with some US officials, Bout was taken from Bang Kwang Prison in central Nonthaburi province in a speeding van with darkened windows at around 12.40 pm and headed to Don Muang Airport.

CSD commander said six US officials were also on board with Bout in the special jet.

Bout was said to have inspired the Hollywood film "Lord of War" starring Nicolas Cage. He was arrested at a Bangkok luxury hotel in March 2008 in a sting operation orchestrated by the US agents posing as arms buyers of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) which Washington categorizes as a terrorist organization.

Bout allegedly supplied weapons to some of the world's worst conflicts including Afghanistan, Angola, Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan.

However, Bout has been pleading not guilty to charges of conspiracy to sell arms to Colombian rebels. Besides, he has denied any involvement in illicit activities and said he ran a legitimate business.

The Appeal Court on Aug 20 approved Bout's extradition to the US to stand trial on terrorism-related charges which could land him in prison for life. The extradition must take place within 90 days, or by Nov 20.

But the additional charge of money laundering and wire fraud the US filed against Bout to ensure his detention has ironically delayed the extradition process.

Situation shifted unexpectedly as Criminal Court decided on October 6 to dismiss the second charge, making the extradition of Bout back on track.

In response, Bout's lawyer Lak Nitiwattanawicharn on October 8 filed an appeal against the Criminal Court's decision to drop charges of money laundering and wire fraud against his client in the hope that the charges would be reinstated, allowing Bout to spend longer in Thailand and further delay extradition.

Surprisingly, cabinet's Tuesday approval on extradition swiftly cleared the last hurdle of Bout's departure to face trial in a US court.  

"The cabinet's resolution followed Appeal Court's judgment that the case was not a political one so we decided to extradite him," Deputy Prime Minister for economics Trirong Suwannakhiri said.

Bout's lawyer told Xinhua reporter over the phone that "The extradition is against Thai laws and infringe jurisdiction of court."

"I will file a lawsuit against those who have been involved in approval of Bout's extradition," Lak added.

Although Bout's extradition has ended a two-year struggle between Moscow and Washington, many are worried about the Russian response.

As for the Russian reaction on the matter, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Tuesday that Russia is expected to understand Thai government's decision to extradite the Russian arms dealer.

Kasit told a local media the Nation that "We make the decision to extradite Bout as allowed by our laws. Our justice system should be respected and we are a sovereign country like other countries."

Nevertheless, the matter may not be as understandable to Moscow as Thai government expects. Following Bout's departure, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed "deep regret" that the Thai government has yielded to external political pressure and illegally extradited Viktor Bout.

A statement published on the ministry website said the extradition of Bout to the US was "undoubtedly" a result of "unprecedented political pressure" from Washington on the government and judicial authorities of Thailand.

"This is nothing else like intrusion into law procedures. This makes questionable the independence of the Thai judicial system and decisions made by Thai authorities," said the ministry.