A South African pilot who testified against a former associate, jailed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in a federal prison.
Andrew Smulian, 71, was arrested in 2008 in Thailand along with Bout in an undercover sting operation by U.S. agents posing as Colombian guerrillas looking to buy weapons.
Bout was sentenced in April to 25 years in prison. He has maintained his innocence.
Upon his arrest, Smulian immediately began cooperating with U.S. authorities, Manhattan federal prosecutors said.
In sentencing Smulian, the judge said the only reason he was roped into the case was because U.S. authorities had used him to get to Bout.
Smulian, who has been incarcerated for 50 months, must serve less than a year in prison in order to complete the five-year sentence, his lawyer said.
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