Alen Basil Dajub, a Serbian citizen of Syrian origin who worked as a translator for the Serbian police and courts, has been in custody for almost two months on suspicion of being involved in people smuggling and illegal possession of weapons, the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Sombor confirmed to BIRN.
They state that the case against Basil is in the pre-investigation phase.
In June 2022, BIRN published an investigation "The smuggler-translator and 'Major Deki': Allegations of crime with police assistance" on how Basil created a smuggling network based in Sombor, which extorted competition and terrorized refugees, with the support of certain police employee.
Serbian police arrested Basil on November 20, 2023, several different police sources, including a police officer involved in the investigation, confirmed to BIRN.
Basil, who previously worked for the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia (KIRS), is currently in the detention unit in Sombor. His lawyer Željko Čavić tells BIRN that he cannot make statements to the media without consulting his client.
During the search of his house in Sirig, which the police officer involved in the investigation estimates is worth "more than a million euros", the police found two hunting carbines without a license, a drone and a fake police uniform that, he claims, can appear authentic to civilians.
"The uniform we found in his house had the inscription 'UKP' (Criminal Police Directorate) and the corresponding insignia on the chest. It would probably seem authentic to ordinary people," the policeman told BIRN.
"Basil could not explain how he, as an occasional translator (for the police and courts), could afford such a house," he points out.
Read the entire text on the website of BIRN.
