Eradicating organized crime

The recent police operations in the wake of last week's mob-style killing in the Athens suburb of Neos Kosmos reveal that criminal networks thrive on specific sources of illegal wealth, including the smuggling of fuels and tobacco. 

The mafia prospers in areas where the state has consistently failed to establish control, despite the significant cost to the public treasury.

Had the repeatedly announced measures been implemented in time and the new surveillance technologies put into operation, the police's intervention - unjustifiably delayed - would not have been necessary. 

Organized crime would have struggled to find fertile ground to take root, gain strength and attempt to undermine the state.