UAE dismantles plane of gunrunner Russia wants for Americans

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

UMM AL-QUWAIN, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Soviet-era cargo plane linked to an arms smuggler known as the “Merchant of Death” is being dismantled in a sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates. The Ilyushin Il-76 tied to arms smuggler Viktor Bout had been for decades in Umm al-Quwain. Now the emirate plans a $675 million development on an island just across a lagoon from a deactivated airport where Bout’s plane sits. Meanwhile, Bout’s name has come back up in the news. Russia has suggested that America could trade him for the U.S. citizens held by Moscow amid its war on Ukraine.