New police force to help fight crime

police directorate, specifically tasked to fight organized crime, will be created, probably before the end of the year, officials say.

Dubbed the “Greek FBI” by high-ranking police and Citizen Protection Ministry officials, the new directorate will absorb five police divisions, four of them now under the Attica Security Sub-Directorate: Narcotics; Crimes against Life and Property; Organized Crime; and Sports Violence; a fifth division, Financial Crimes, will be added. Documents seen by Kathimerini say that the new directorate will also concern itself with “crimes that greatly impact public opinion” and that “adversely affect public perceptions of safety and security.”

The “Greek FBI” will operate across the country, with a second office in northern Greece. European police forces will assist in training.

The project had first been evoked by then Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Dendias, currently the minister of defense, in 2014. But such a radical reorganization of the police inevitably raised complaints within the force. Dendias soon was appointed elsewhere, the project languished before being abandoned and police officers involved in the planning were pushed to early retirement.

The Greek mafia that the Greek FBI was supposed to tackle has meanwhile significantly expanded its activities; from extortion, it moved to illicit trade – cigarettes and fuel – and legitimate businesses such as coffeeshop and steakhouse chains and gas stations.

A few years ago, the National Intelligence Agency discovered that a gangowned chain was a serious bidder for the Parliament's cafe concession.