Hellenic Police

The Orion 23 Special Forces - Special Operations Forces Exercise, which was held in parallel with Iniochos 23, was completed on Thursday with the participation of contingents from the US, France, Cyprus, Austria, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro. 

Amid the outcry over widespread illegal construction on the island of Mykonos and the state finally deciding to intervene and order demolitions recently, the role of some policemen with close connections to the builders engaged in illegal activity has drawn the spotlight.

Police in Athens have arrested a 56-year-old fugitive wanted by the authorities in Albania for child trafficking.

The suspect, who was wanted on an Interpol arrest warrant, was tracked down in the central Athens district of Agios Nikolaos and taken into custody on Monday afternoon.

A total of 576,914 vehicles left from the Greek capital Athens in the period between April 7 and 14 for the Easter holidays, the Hellenic Police (ELAS) said on Saturday.

According to its announcement, 2,000 police officers and 550 traffic police vehicles have been dispatched across the Attica region to ensure safe travels for holidaymakers and to prevent traffic accidents.

The Hellenic Police opened a disciplinary inquiry on Wednesday into an officer who shot four rounds in the air after he was attacked by black-clad youths in a densely populated district in central Athens earlier in the day.

A painting by the world-famous artist Jackson Pollock was discovered in Bulgaria during an operation by the Main Directorate "Fighting Organized Crime" and the Greek anti-organized crime services under the coordination of Europol. This was reported by the Bulgarian National Radio from its sources. According to experts, the price of such a painting can reach millions of euros.

Police Lieutenant General Lazaros Mavropoulos has been appointed new chief of the Hellenic Police (ELAS) following a meeting of the National Council on National Security (KYSEA) on Saturday.

Τhe new appointment "aims to improve and implement more positively and effectively the modern operational plans of the Hellenic Police for the safety of citizens," KYSEA said in its announcement.

The Hellenic Police estimates that more than 40,000 people marched in central Athens on Wednesday to protest the rail collision at Tempe last week that left 57 people dead. Sources from the Citizen Protection Ministry also pointed out that the march was a mostly peaceful affair.

Minister of Citizens' Protection Takis Theodorikakos has ordered the immediate investigation into reports of police violence during a rally and protest march in Athens on Sunday over the deadly train accident at Tempe in central Greece last week. 

Greek Police, Athens, Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGE VITSARAS

It follows reports in the media on Sunday, January 29, of secret conversations between police officers and people involved with the fuel mafia.