Filenews 18 December 2025 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
Under extreme secrecy, the internal processes in the Police continue for the formation of the Directorate against organized crime, according to the model of the Greek FBI.
The creation of this Unit was announced by the former Minister of Justice, Marios Hartsiotis, during his meeting with the Greek Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, during his visit to Cyprus. In fact, it was decided to exchange information and know-how from the corresponding Directorate operating in Greece, which has shown very good results during the period in which it operates.
According to information from "F", the Directorate in Cyprus will report directly to the Chief of Police and will have expanded powers. The main thing is that services that are currently scattered and operate autonomously, which are often not coordinated, will be merged under the same umbrella. Now, according to the decisions taken, it is that several services will be transferred under the newly established Directorate, so that there is coordination of actions, overlap and joint action.
According to our own information, the Directorate that will act against organized crime will include the Anti-Narcotics Service and the Information Analysis Service. YKAN has the means and experience for surveillance, while drugs are one of the main activities, if not the main one, of organized crime and one of its largest sources of financing.
At the moment, a building is being sought that will house the new service and at the same time the Chief of Police, obviously in consultation with the political boss, will choose its head. Some persons who serve in specific positions or possess the knowledge in information analysis and evaluation will already be transferred to the newly established Unit for reinforcement. It is also possible that where and where necessary, they will be strengthened in the operational sector, with members of the MMAD who have special training. The greatest asset of this Directorate will be its action under extreme secrecy and only its results will be seen.
The big problem that its executives will face is the lack of a legislative framework suitable for allowing the interception of telephone conversations. Although legislation has been passed regulating the issue, it was nevertheless judged that it had problems and a new bill was prepared by the Ministry of Justice to solve the problems that arose before the implementation of the law. Telephone surveillance is considered a sine qua non for the task of combating organized crime, something that has been proven in practice in other countries that apply surveillance, which have had tangible results.
It is expected, according to the same information, that the operation of the Directorate will take place at the beginning of the new year, which is why it will be requested to speed up the processing of the bill that will be complementary to the existing legislation, which will determine the framework for the interception of telephone conversations. Already based on legislation that came into force on November 11, anonymity with prepaid mobile phone cards has been terminated, even though illegals will find other ways of communication without being noticed.
