Crime in Athens and controversies
“For the problems of crime in Athens, in addition to the official data of the Hellenic Police, as they ask the representatives of the Commercial Association, the rector’s authorities, the employees of the National Theater, the residents of Victoria Square, the employees of OSY. I do not create a topic for no reason. I know what happens from our recordings in every part of the city but also from my contact with the world. “Since last September, there has been a reduction in policing and an increase in the problems that citizens are experiencing.”.
This report in the “Sunday Step” of the Mayor of Athens Mr. Costa Bakoyannis reflects the concern of the municipal authorities for the alleged reduction of police checks in the center of the capital which is said – according to their reports – to provoke an escalation of so-called obscure crime , with thousands of undeclared thefts and burglaries every month, with unscrupulous action. drug traffickers from the western suburbs and many other illegal activities.
The “red” areas
Representatives of the Ministry of Citizen Protection talk about incorrect causes and about the continuous cooperation of EL.AS. with representatives of the Municipality of Athens at the so-called Unified Coordination Center, where he is present every week and a GADA officer and receives suggestions from the representative of the Municipality of Athens.
The Ministry of Civil Protection for its part points out that “Mr. Bakoyannis, instead of applauding the extensive operations of the Greek Police in the center of Athens for the placement of illegal immigration and other illegal activities, seemed to disagree with the companies -” broom “”. With its executives leaving hints for “Exaggerations related to politicians and officials who were present on Katehaki Avenue”.
However, as he stated speaking to “Vima”, a close associate of Mr. Bakoyannis on issues of policing, “The municipality in cooperation with the Hellenic Police proceeded in the period 2019-2021 to evacuate 60 squatters in the center of Athens and continuous inspections to reduce crime. However, now we have identified 11 areas that are in the “red” in terms of petty theft, car burglary, drug lots, etc. Among them are Petroula Square in Kolonos, Geraniou Street, Fili Street, Marni Street, Monastiraki, Gazi, America Square, Drosopoulou Street and others with unscrupulous petty thieves and drug traffickers. We are constantly monitoring the mobilizations of citizens for miserable conditions in their neighborhood and for “health bombs” with buildings used by drug addicts and others. There are thefts and robberies on the street that are not reported, since many security departments are closed at night and are closed in the morning. Most citizens avoid reporting anything to the police or make simple statements of disappearance to avoid inconvenience. There is a reduction – due to assignments of guards to other targets and other needs – by 50% -60% of the police officers who participated in the Patrol Directorate that supervised the center of Athens, as well as the other police forces. At the Coordination Center we submit requests and proceed with imports with a low degree of implementation. The only area where there is admittedly sufficient police control is in Filopappou, while we consider it important that the “Panthers” group of EL.AS is reactivated. with 75 people for stronger controls “.
Thefts and burglaries
It is noted that in the central police stations of Athens, approximately 1,200-2,000 thefts and burglaries are reported annually. At the same time, around 8,000-10,000 losses of items are recorded after suggestions of mainly police officers to the citizens in order to avoid the “bureaucratic inconvenience”. As EL.AS officers say. who are familiar with the data on policing and security issues in the center of Athens, “There is indeed an increase in crime after quarantine, which tends to return to pandemic crime numbers. There are about 15-20 robberies every month. We have about two or three groups of Albanians, four Romanians and eight or nine gangs of Algerians, as well as some others from Bulgaria who are in the center of the city, the passengers of the public transport and the neighborhoods. “But we also have constant arrests of thieves for whom deportation proceedings are underway, so that they do not return to criminal activity soon.”.
46-year-old Albanian prosecuted for ‘death contract’
The Athens Prosecutor’s Office has prosecuted one of the unsolved “death contracts” in the field of organized crime, as revealed by “To Vima tis Kyriakis”, without anything being made public. This is the vocal explosion of a bomb in December 2014 in Smart that was moving on Attiki Odos and from which a 35-year-old marked Albanian criminal was killed and his companion was seriously injured. With the organization of the murderous attack attributed to a 46-year-old Albanian who has been attributed to the Greek “mafia” and who has been deported to the neighboring country. However, he denies any accusation. At the same time, it is revealed that the domestic organized crime can receive a key blow from a worn small magnet on the motorcycle used by the perpetrators of the murder of Giannis Skaftourou three weeks ago in Skourta, Boeotia!
The explosion in the Smart occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on Monday, December 29, at the 50.5th kilometer of Attiki Odos, while the 35-year-old transported his Albanian partner to the airport. The investigation of the Forensic Laboratories found explosives in the crater that were caused by the explosion on the road of Attiki Odos, but it was not determined whether it was a bomb with a clock mechanism or a remote-controlled detonation. At the house of the murdered foreigner in Ag. Dimitrios found pistols, a revolver, 103 rounds of ammunition and a grenade. He had previously worked for law enforcement agencies for drug trafficking, weapons and human trafficking, while he was arrested in 2004 in Thessaloniki and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released four years later from the Larissa prison. It was also found that the 35-year-old alleges that he worked in nightclubs as a doorman as a cover for his other activities. In May 2021, EL.AS. He completed the investigation into the murder and handed over the file of the Athens Prosecutor’s Office, which prosecuted the 46-year-old after a few months, based on the testimony that he was the one who had used SMART the previous night and some other indications. The 46-year-old who denies any involvement has been charged in the past with two murders in Piraeus and in a prison in Crete, participating in clashes with compatriots outside a club who were murdered in 2019 by businessmen. In addition, he has been accused of murdering his compatriot in 2017 in Glyfada, but he was acquitted.