Task Force TIGRIS
The Einsatzgruppe TIGRIS (, , ) is a police tactical unit of the Federal Criminal Police, the investigative arm of the Swiss Federal Office of Police. As of 2009, it consists of 14 officers and is based at the military police base in Worblaufen near Bern. Manpower for the unit is currently being increased to recruit more officers. The exact budget allocated to the unit has been made classified by the Federal Office of Police, only being known as part of its allocated budget. As of 2009, TIGRIS operators had been deployed in 130 operations in Switzerland. No shots had been fired by TIGRIS during these operations. History In the past, plans to create a specialist federal police unit had failed twice — in 1978 and in 2002 — due to jurisdiction issues with the cantons. After the Swiss Parliament approved the formation of TIGRIS in the year 2000, the unit was covertly created under the watch of ex-Justice Minister Christoph Blocher on January 1, 2002. The unit was created under "Project Effort". Federal officials were first informed about the existence of TIGRIS in September 2005 in a routine meeting of high-ranking police officials, catching most of them by surprise as they were not aware of its creation. It was not, however, a matter of public knowledge until March 2009, when it was revealed by an article in the Swiss weekly magazine Die Weltwoche. Known operations TIGRIS was deployed in its first mission in May 2003, when they apprehended two foreign nationals, one for the breaking out of a German prison and another for committing fraud. In June 2006, TIGRIS operatives, assisting Zürich police, arrested a Moldavian national wanted for armed robbery, followed by another arrest operation resulting in the apprehension of a Polish national on December 11, 2006. On April 3, 2007, TIGRIS units joined with St. Gallen police in arresting a Turkish national for forgery. TIGRIS arrested Gerhard Ulrich, the founder of "Call to the People" on March 27, 2009. Equipment Operatives of TIGRIS are known to wear black helmets and combat uniforms. The Weltwoche had reported that the unit has been provided with state-of-the-art counterterrorism equipment and weapons as well as computerised training facilities. Its known budget is a total of 2.7 million Swiss francs. The operatives of TIGRIS are seen armed with the following firearms: Heckler & Koch MP5 SIG P226 Glock 19 Mandate The unit normally operates as a tactical unit for the needs of the Federal Criminal Police. For instance, they are tasked with arrests of particularly dangerous individuals, tailing and observation of targets (intelligence gathering), tactical training for the armed personnel of the Federal Criminal Police. TIGRIS would also intervene in situations where cantonal police agencies would need federal assistance. TIGRIS's missions are based on special operations with high risks and will not intervene in missions where canton police specialist units can handle the job themselves. A report on TIGRIS was publicly announced, saying that the unit could probably operate in international territory