A Russian spy, suspected of preparing operations for the special services of the Russian Federation, has been detained in Colombia and risks extradition to the United States, according to an investigation published by The Insider. The man reportedly gave himself away by using Google Translate to translate phrases from Serbian.
We are talking about Denis Alimov, who was arrested on February 24 at the airport in Bogota. He arrived in Colombia via Istanbul and was detained in cooperation with Interpol, and now awaits the decision on extradition.
According to American prosecutors, Alimov would be involved in planning kidnapping or assassination operations against Kremlin opponents in exile. He is accused of conspiracy to finance terrorism and support terrorist activities. For these crimes, the man risks life imprisonment.
Denis Alimov’s informant was the Serbian Darko Durovici. He was recruited and paid by the Russian services, because he could move freely through Europe and had no obvious ties to Russian espionage. The problem was that Alimov did not speak English, and Durcovici – Russian.
Exchanging messages with Durcovici, Alimov used Google Translate, and the FBI gained access to this data. In one of the discussions, for example, the Russian officer translated into Serbian the question whether the target can be tracked at the mosque, during Friday prayer.
According to his interlocutor, such an action would have been too risky, as the area was monitored by authorities. In parallel, investigators discovered that the people involved were searching the internet for information about Glock pistols, which could indicate the preparation of a possible execution.
The revelations could bring to light the existence and activity of a new clandestine structure of the Russian special services involved in operations outside the country.
The investigation shows that the officer would be part of a secret structure of the Russian services, called “Center 795”. The entity would bring together officers from the military intelligence service (GRU) and from the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia. “Center 795” would be responsible for operations in Ukraine, but also in other states, according to The Insider. The spy team was created in December 2022 and started de facto activity in 2023, consisting of three detachments: investigation, assault, and combat. However, some exponents of this project would be frustrated about the assassinations taking place abroad, although initially such actions were not planned in their activity plan.
The entire investigation can be read HERE.