Secretary General Noble (right) with Brigadier General Ioannis Chouliaras, Director of International Police Cooperation for the Hellenic Police, at the Olympic Stadium construction site.

Secretary General Noble, along with Mr Chouliaris, other members of the INTERPOL delegation and members of the Olympic organizing team at the stadium site.

ATHENS - INTERPOL, the world's largest international police organization, will provide an array of operational police services to organizers of the Olympic Games in Greece, making available officers, expertise and technical support to assist in the effort to prevent terrorist attacks.

Secretary General Ronald K. Noble travelled to Athens for talks on 29 June with the Greek Minister of Public Order, Georgios Voulgarakis, the Chief of the Hellenic Police, Major-General Fotios Nasiakos, and other senior officials to discuss security preparedness and details of INTERPOL's contribution to the effort.

INTERPOL will post three liaison officers to work in the Olympic Intelligence Centre for the duration of the event. The liaison officers will have direct access to all INTERPOL databases, including its database of some 1.5 million stolen travel documents, and will be able to access this information instantly through INTERPOL's state-of-the-art police communications system, known as I-24/7. That system links police in INTERPOL's member countries and allows immediate transmission of police data such as fingerprints, images and wanted persons notices.

INTERPOL will give the highest priority to all messages and queries concerning the Athens Olympics beginning 1 July 2004. This will coincide with the increased level of security to be put in place by the Greek authorities on that date.

In addition, INTERPOL has compiled for Games organizers a list of suspected terrorists wanted at the international level, and is providing a number of threat assessments on issues related to Olympic security, notably on the risk of kidnappings and hostage-takings.

INTERPOL will also offer support by issuing Orange Security Alert Notices for disguised weapons, suspicious packages or new criminal or terrorist modus operandi.

'The Greek authorities have devoted an extraordinary amount of resources, have made experts from around the world an integral part of their security operations and have demonstrated an unfailing commitment to making these Games as safe as possible', Secretary General Noble said. 'But the organizers face the same dangers that we all face from terrorists and other criminals. The world is a dangerous place and it is never wise or possible to predict that there is no threat to any event or any public place.'

Public Order Minister Voulgarakis said: 'I would like to thank INTERPOL for the help it has given to the Hellenic Police by providing intelligence and more general assistance. I would also like to say that I am very pleased that, at this stage, there is no specific intelligence that indicates a threat against the Olympic Games.'

INTERPOL was founded in 1923 to foster international police co-operation. It now has 181 member countries on five continents.

INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble (left) with the Greek Minister of Public Order, Georgios Voulgarakis, after their meeting in Athens (Greece) on 29 June, to discuss security preparations for the Olympic Games.