Swiss police boss calls for more resources to fight mafia
The director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) has warned of a lack of personnel to fight organised crime effectively.
In an interview with the Tamedia group on Thursday, Nicoletta della Valle said Fedpol lacked around 200 investigators. Switzerland had turned from a place of retreat into a theatre of operations for organised crime, she added.
Della Valle said Switzerland could not afford to have overstretched investigators risking burn-out – and for the mafia to make itself comfortable in Switzerland. The presence of the mafia in Switzerland is not noticeable as on the surface they appear to be industrious citizens, she explained.
“The mafia takes jobs away from the economy,” she said. “It does this, for example, with cheap bids for construction projects. Workers are exploited, environmental regulations are ignored and shoddy materials are used.”
In Switzerland there are not enough police forces to fight organised crime, she claimed. “We also have to ask ourselves exactly which residence permits we issue and whom we naturalise.”
Already in June, della Valle called for better cooperation between the cantons.
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