Through his links with an international arms dealer who in turn had dealings with many mercenaries through his business, Gaston had contacted a certain Colonel Andarbek, a former Chechen military who had played a prominent role in the first Chechen war with the Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. In the course of the so-called second Chechen war in 1999, when Russian troops entered Chechnya and ended the independence of that territory and annexed it again to Russia, Andarbek saw his troops massacred and was exiled with the few survivors. Since then he had dedicated himself and his men to fighting for money in the most diverse wars of low intensity that endure in the world, which proved to be a very profitable business. In that period he had gained fame for his ferocity and his ruthless methods.
Faced with the failure of his dealings with the usual foreign Legion leaders Gaston felt compelled to negotiate with the fearsome colonel, despite his reservations.