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