A notorious Syrian arms dealer who lived above the law for three decades while arming terrorists around the globe and building a vast fortune has been nabbed on federal charges for conspiring to kill American military personnel.
The spectacularly wealthy Monzer al Kassar, 61, was forced to trade his palatial estate in Marbella, Spain, for the confines of a prison cell after authorities grabbed him at Madrid's Barajas airport Thursday.
His downfall came as the result of a Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation. He allegedly agreed to sell a staggering array of weaponry and a small army of men to a terrorist organization battling U.S. military in Colombia.
Known as the "Prince of Marbella," al Kassar has been considered one of the world's most prolific arms dealers since the 1970s, supplying military equipment used in conflicts from Iraq and Iran to Somalia, Croatia and Bosnia.
More from the
Washington Times:
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy said Syrian national Monzer Al Kassar, 61, of Marbella, Spain, along with suspects Tareq Mousa Al Ghazi, 60, of Lebanon, and Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy, 58, also of Marbella, were arrested as they prepared to finalize a multimillion-dollar deal with the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to pay for the weapons.
Mr. Kassar was arrested on the U.S. charges by Spanish authorities in Madrid; simultaneously Mr. Ghazi and Mr. Moreno Godoy were arrested in Romania.
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