IDF tracker charged with aiding smugglers
Military Police arrest tracker known for his illustrious military career, for aiding smugglers on Egyptian border. Evidence against him includes recorded phone conversations in which he is heard allegedly coordinating activity in code
A senior tracker serving in the IDF's Gaza Division was detained recently by the Investigating Military Police, who suspect he has been assisting smugglers on the Israel-Egypt border. Police tapped the suspect's cellular phone and listened in on his conversations for six months in order to gather evidence to build a case, and several months after they had finished, the suspect was arrested.
The suspect, Sergeant-Major Yasser Ataika, is considered a well-known figure in the Southern Command, and served as a tracker in various regions for 20 years. Ataika has thwarted many terror attacks and killed quite a few terrorists during his extensive career, but during the past two weeks he has been held at Military Confinement Base 394, and the Military Prosecution has ascribed a number of serious offences to him.
Military Prosecutor Major Ofira Elkabetz described the offenses to the court. "His conversations were documented, in which you can hear him transferring and receiving information on data related to different points in the fence, talking about handing over information to people, and holding coded conversations about smuggling on the border."
In one example of such a conversation recorded in November of 2007, the tracker spoke of cartons, and indeed at that time cigarette cartons were confiscated on the border. The prosecutor claims Ataika has confessed to assisting with the smuggling for a fee. In another conversation police heard the tracker following up on the smuggling activity he had coordinated using jeeps.
Evidence also points to a suspicion that Ataika attempted to enlist Border Guard officers who knew the territory well, in order to assist him in his activities.
President of the Military Court Colonel Nir Aviram determined that the soldier would be held in custody until next Monday, and on Wednesday a court hearing will be held in which the defendant's attorney plans to appeal for his client's release.
