2007: INL END USE MONITORING REPORT FOR GREECE

UNCLAS ATHENS 000384

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT ALSO FOR INL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR AFIN GR
SUBJECT: 2007: INL END USE MONITORING REPORT FOR GREECE

REF: A. 07 STATE 163708


B. STATE 16874

C. STATE 24684


1. Following is Athens' submission for the CY-2007 End Use
Monitoring Report keyed to Ref A request.


2. Resource: A five-meter long, shallow-draft riverboat was
provided to the Greek National Police in 1996. The riverboat
was used by the National Police Counternarcotics Unit in
Alexandroupolis from that time until 2007.


3. Procedures: Embassy law enforcement officials are in
regular contact with the Alexandroupolis Unit, which has
reported that the riverboat is no longer utilized for patrol
and drug interdiction efforts.


4. Status: The riverboat is no longer used by the National
Police Counternarcotics Unit in Alexandroupolis for
patrolling the Evros River and the border between Greece and
Turkey, a crossing point for traffickers in narcotics and
illegal immigrant smugglers.


5. Problems: During 2007, the boat's motor "gave out and
could not be repaired" according to officers working
narcotics interdiction on the Evros River. We understand
that the vessel was sent to the equivalent of a junk yard.


6. Program changes: The resource is no longer being utilized.


7. Impact: Greece is part of the traditional "Balkan Route"
for drugs flowing from drug-producing countries in the east
to drug-consuming countries in Western Europe. Investigations
initiated by the DEA and its Hellenic counterparts suggest
that a dramatic rise has occurred in the number and size of
drug trafficking organizations operating in Greece. Having a
police boat on patrol in the Evros helped to deter illegal
smuggling and trafficking activities although even without
this vessel, interdiction efforts are continuing.
Cooperation between U.S. and Greek law enforcement officials
is close and professional.
SPECKHARD