After the... unofficial strikes against organized crime, the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (DAOE), known as the "Cypriot FBI" that operates according to the model of the Greek one, is officially established today.
Although it has not moved to its new home, the new Service is announced today by the Chief of Police in the presence of its first director, current commander of YKAN Christos Andreou.
Already, the newly established Service has managed four strikes against organized crime, starting last May, where three persons were arrested in Limassol with one being a member of the Police and the commitment of €420,000. Another attack followed in Limassol with the arrest of persons related to a well-known person, the dismantling of an organized "pink cocaine" trafficking ring and the arrest of suspects who planned the murder of the twin brothers from Denmark.
The main element of the new police service, in addition to dismantling criminal groups, is the removal of financial resources from their members, so that they are deprived of the financial strength to regroup. The new Directorate will include the Anti-Narcotics Service and the Information Analysis Directorate, plus a large number of investigators of various specialties who can analyze financial data, cooperate with other Services and execute court warrants or decrees.
It is estimated that the new Directorate will have more than 150 members and will be housed in a building that will be purchased by the Republic of Cyprus. The building is located on Iphigenias Avenue and belongs to a commercial bank. The negotiations have taken place and now the Land Registry is expected to make the final estimates of its value. As soon as the signatures are signed, the necessary modifications will begin, so that it will accommodate all the services that will be co-located and DAOE will now operate in an organized way in one building.
It is expected that the cost will be covered many times more by the confiscations and confiscations of property that will change hands, i.e. they will pass from organized crime to the state. Now, the various services are scattered, however, the investigators are working on cases that stem mainly from drug trafficking, in order to then move on to the next stage which is the operations for the arrest and confiscation of illegally acquired properties.
