Penteli Monastery and Municipality Move to Evict Anubis Team Whose Dogs Found Human Remains at Tempi

The Anubis Coldcase K9 research team has been told to leave its facilities in Penteli, even as its specially trained dogs continue to be associated with one of Greece’s most closely watched investigations.

The Municipality of Penteli sent an extrajudicial notice demanding that the team vacate the property by Monday, September 7. The municipality received use of the site from Penteli Monastery and says the agreement limits the property to its own needs and activities.

The agreement covers social and cultural initiatives, as well as activities within local government responsibilities involving sustainable development, public safety and residents’ quality of life. It also reportedly expressly bans the municipality from granting any part of the property to a third party, whether for payment or free of charge. On that basis, the municipality has been instructed to remove third parties from the site unless they are public services, regardless of how or when they moved in.

Anubis specializes in training and caring for Belgian Malinois dogs for search, rescue and detection operations. The team says its dogs have taken part in dozens of missions involving missing-person searches and other operations requiring specialized training.

One of its most prominent assignments came after the Tempi rail disaster. The dogs detected bones and other remains at the crash site. Relatives of victims used those findings in complaints alleging that the scene may have been altered. The team’s officials were also appointed judicial experts by the investigating appeals court judge as part of the legal inquiry. The eviction notice now places the group’s continued use of the Penteli facilities in question.