Two Arrested Over Paid Car Arson Near Velika Plana
Two men have been arrested for allegedly torching a car in Velika Plana, police say for a fee of 500 euros. The man accused of ordering the arson remains at large.
The Police Department in Smederevo has arrested two men on suspicion of setting fire to a car in Velika Plana. The men, identified as N. Z. (20) and A. Dj. (39), were detained in cooperation with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Velika Plana. Both face charges of causing a general danger.
What sets this case apart from an ordinary vehicle fire is the claim, made by police, that the act was neither random nor impulsive. According to their suspicions, the arson was commissioned, and the person who carried it out was paid an agreed sum in advance.
Who hired whom
According to a statement from the Interior Ministry, the older of the two arrested men acted as the middleman. Police suspect he found the younger man and offered him money to burn a car belonging to a resident of Velika Plana.
“hired N. Z. to torch a Peugeot belonging to a resident of Velika Plana for a payment of 500 euros, which he did”
That is how the Police Department in Smederevo described the act A. Dj. is accused of. The car did in fact burn, and police cite 500 euros as the price agreed for the job.
The man who ordered it is on the run
The chain does not end with the two men in custody, according to police. Investigators suspect A. Dj. was acting on the orders of a 39 year old man, who is still being actively sought. He has not been arrested, and his identity has not been released.
Whether the investigation continues is clear from the wording police themselves used. The search is ongoing, and the two men already detained are, in the police account, only the middleman and the man who carried out the arson.
Acting on an order from the basic public prosecutor, authorities placed the two men in custody for up to 48 hours. Once that period expires, they will be brought before the prosecutor’s office along with a criminal complaint.
Marijuana seized in Smederevo the same day
The same police department also reported a separate arrest. In Smederevo, police detained M. S. (39), in whose possession a search turned up and seized 660 grams of marijuana along with a digital scale used for precise measuring.
He is charged with unauthorized possession of narcotics, and the case has been referred to the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Smederevo. He too was placed in custody for up to 48 hours.
Police did not describe any connection between the two cases, but both appeared in the same statement, released on August 13, 2026. Together they show what the Smederevo police force was dealing with that day across its territory, from Velika Plana to Smederevo itself.
Until a final verdict, all three men are merely suspects and the presumption of innocence applies. The claims about the payment, the order, and the burned car are allegations made by police, put forward at a stage where the prosecutor’s office has yet to act on the criminal complaint.
