Organized Crime Division (Hellenic Police)

Prior to the establishment of the Organized Crime Division, the primary responsibility for specialized investigations in the regions of Attica and Thessaloniki was exercised by the respective Security Divisions of those regions. These divisions comprised several Subdivisions, including Narcotics; Property Crimes and Crimes Against Life; Human Trafficking and Organized Crime; Organized Athletic Violence; State Security and Extremist Violence; Juvenile Protection; Identity Documents and Archives; and Special Operations.

Although their statutory territorial jurisdiction was limited to Attica and Thessaloniki respectively, both Security Divisions frequently supported regional police services throughout Greece in cases of serious and organized crime falling within their areas of expertise.

In 2024, the minister for Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis, initiated a restructuring of these services, establishing a unified central service with nationwide jurisdiction in order to enhance coordination and improve the response to organized criminal activity, which often extends beyond regional boundaries. As part of this reform, the existing Division of Financial Crime — previously operating as a central investigative service alongside the Counter-Terrorism and Cyber Crime Divisions — was also incorporated into the newly established Organized Crime Division as one of its Subdivisions.^[6]

Following the reform, the Security Divisions of Attica and Thessaloniki were renamed Crime Investigation and Prosecution Divisions and continued to operate with their remaining Subdivisions, namely State Security and Extremist Violence, Juvenile Protection, Identity Documents and Archives, and Special Operations, albeit with a strictly regional mandate.^[7]

All local Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivisions and Departments operating throughout Greece are now required to report their operational activity, findings, and intelligence to the Organized Crime Division and its two regional Subdivisions. This framework is intended to support the centralized analysis and profiling of criminal activity, facilitate intelligence coordination, and enable the identification of broader criminal networks operating across multiple regions of the country, which was not possible under the previous structure of these Departments.^[8] A liaison officer in each Police Directorate links said Directorate to the relevant Organized Crime Service and all three of said Services retain authority to assume primary responsibility for investigations relating to Organized Crime in their geographic area of jurisdiction following prior communication with the director of the local Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivision.

The General Regional Police Directorate of Crete had previously maintained its own local Department of Organized Crime, established in response to persistent phenomena in the region such as vendetta-related homicides, large-scale illegal weapons possession and trafficking, livestock theft (rustling), and other forms of organized property crime, particularly in rural and mountainous areas. This department was subsequently incorporated into the Organized Crime Division and later upgraded to Subdivision status with specialized Departments, including a Department of Special Criminal Activities tasked with addressing forms of criminality particularly prevalent in the region. The reorganization followed the Vorizia double homicide in October 2025, which was linked to a long-standing vendetta in the town.^{[9][10][11][5]}

While the Cretan Subdivision does not have a Operational Taskforces Department/Office, it employees 20 specially trained officers under its Special Criminal Activities Department, which form the Rapid Response Operational Unit, assigned to immediate deployment in case of similar incidents.

To further enhance operational readiness on the island, ever since 2001, six Departments of Police Operations (Τμήματα Αστυνομικών Επιχειρήσεων - Τ.Α.Ε.) have operated across Crete, each with defined geographic jurisdiction in predominantly rural and provincial areas. These Departments function as the rural equivalent of Ο.Π.Κ.Ε. (Ομάδες Πρόληψης και Καταστολής Εγκλήματος - Crime Suppression and Prevention Units), providing enhanced patrols, emergency tactical response, inspections related to narcotics and illegal firearms, targeted surveillance, and the execution of raids and arrest warrants. Administratively, they fall under the four Police Directorates of Crete (two in Heraklion, two in Rethymno, one in Chania and one in Lasithi). Operationally, however, they currently serve as the principal tactical support units of the new Subdivision of Organized Crime of Crete, fulfilling a role analogous to that of the Special Operational Taskforces of the Organized Crime Services in Attica and Thessaloniki.^[12] From 2026 onwards, officers of the Τ.Α.Ε. undergo the same annual rigorous training as the Greek SWAT-equivalent, Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. (Ειδική Κατασταλτική Αντιτρομοκρατική Μονάδα - Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit).^[13]

Ever since November 8, 2025, a new operational unit has been established within several Precincts of Attica, Thessaloniki and sixteen more Regional Units, designated as Prevention and Mediation Units (Ομάδες Πρόληψης και Διαμεσολάβησης – Ο.Π.ΔΙ.). Composed of 473 highly trained Police Officers, as well as 50 newly hired accredited Romani Mediators, these Units conduct foot and vehicle patrols on a 24-hour basis within Romani settlements across the country and conduct inspections and crime suppression operations. Their stated mission is the prevention of criminal activity, the strengthening of police presence within these areas, and the promotion of mediation and cooperation between Romani communities and the Hellenic Police. The Ο.Π.ΔΙ. Units fall under the Division of Organized Crime's Special Operational Taskforces Department and, outside of Attica and Thessaloniki, they are supervised by the Crime Investigation and Prosecution Subdivision of each Regional Unit.^[14][15]

As of January 31st 2026, in 1 year and 4 months of operations, the Organized Crime Division managed to:^[16][17]

• Handle 958 criminal cases regarding serious and organized crime
• Dismantle 173 criminal organizations, of which 52 were related to Narcotics and 62 related to Property Crime
• Charged 3,312 individuals, 2,228 of which have already been to trial
• Resolve all Homicides that took place in the country
• Confiscate 5 tons of cannabis, 2 tons of cocaine, 116 kilograms of heroin, 36,000 pills of ecstasy, 25 tons of tobacco, 28,978,807 illegally smuggled tobacco cigarettes, 28,100 liters of illegally smuggled alcohol and a total of €7,275,573 derived from criminal activity
• Confiscate 427 pistols, 146 rifles, 62 hunting rifles, 47 revolvers, 27 air guns, 14 submachine guns, 9 machine guns and 60,266 bullets
• Confiscate 1,707 gold coins, 42 gold bars, 969 pieces of jewelry and 113 diamonds which had been stolen