A FORMER Soviet air force officer has been named as the chief supplier of arms and equipment to Osama Bin Laden’s network in Afghanistan. Victor Bout, a mysterious Russian whose air freight firms are accused of flouting United Nations sanctions across Africa and Asia, is alleged by intelligence sources to have operated flights to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda until just days before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Last week an international arrest warrant was issued and will shortly be circulated worldwide by Interpol. Controlling one of the world’s largest fleets of former Soviet cargo planes, Bout brought in arms and ...