Police carries out broad crime sweep in downtown Athens

A large police operation was carried out early on Monday in and around Agiou Konstantinou Street in Omonia, which Citizens’ Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos said was geared toward restoring a sense of security in the center of Athens. 

The operation involved 147 officers who stopped and searched 442 people, of whom 129 were foreign nationals who lacked the necessary residency documents. 

They were detained and taken to the Amygdaleza deportation center. 

“We are intensifying the special police operations with the participation of all Hellenic Police units, both in the center and in neighborhoods of Athens and Thessaloniki,” Theodorikakos said on Monday, stressing, “Our goal is to tackle illegal immigration, trafficking and, of course, drugs.”