The new service of the Hellenic Police is launched, which will operate on the standards of FBI and will be aimed at combating organized crime.

Yesterday Monday (7/10) the decision of the chief of the Hellenic Police was issued for the placement of the officers and the trainees who will staff the service with Major General Foti Douitsis taking over as commander and Major General Georgos Tzimas taking over as deputy director.

Responsibilities of the Directorate of Organized Crime Enforcement (as is the official name of the new service), according to the presidential decree issued last June, is to dismantle criminal organizations, domestic or cross-border, investigating money laundering, alongside the investigation of the basic offences, monitoring the evolution and trends of serious and organised crime, as well as studying scientific and technical methods of combating it.

As police sources explained to protothema.gr, “from now on, serious cases of organized crime that have homicides, money laundering, etc., will be taken over by this service. Cases from all over Greece involving organised crime will go to this service and will be managed by a central core.”

The scope of action of the service will also include cooperation with law enforcement authorities of other countries, in the context of the exchange of knowledge, information and experience in dealing with serious and organized crime, the provision of expertise and training to the staff of the competent regional police services, cooperation with other locally competent services of the Hellenic Police or other authorities and services, in particular the Independent Authority for Public Revenue, the National Transparency Authority, the Authority for Combating Money Laundering from Criminal Activities and the Financial Crime Unit.

At the same time, the cooperation with EUROPOL, INTERPOL and with relevant authorities and services of the country and other member states of the European Union and third countries, within the framework of special agreements, as well as the utilization of information from all services in the field of public security is also sought.

It is noted that the Divisions of Narcotics Enforcement, Crimes Against Life and Property, Combating Human and Goods Trafficking, Financial Crime Enforcement, and Addressing Organized Sports Violence will fall under the Directorate of Organized Crime Enforcement.