Big swoop draws in a huge catch
In the biggest operation of its kind ever, some 5,200 police officers from 14 forces around the country joined yesterday in overnight crime-busting swoops that led to over 1,300 arrests. The latest in a series of operations code-named Polis, which were launched in February, meant that officers from Thrace all the way to Crete were out in force from late Tuesday night. They stopped and searched 36,877 people and some 25,000 cars – 18 of which were found to be stolen. Just over half of those arrested (673 suspects) were caught in Attica. Of those taken into custody in and around Athens, almost a quarter had pending arrest warrants or had been convicted of crimes in absentia. One woman had 50 outstanding fraud convictions, which amounted to 110 years in jail. Attica police also arrested 163 foreigners for immigration violations. Another two men were picked up in Athens on suspicion of having recently used false documents to secure almost 19,000 euros in loans from two banks.
