Abbreviation TEK Employees 858 (2011) | Formed September 1, 2010 | |
Annual budget 13.41 billion HUF (61 million $) annually (2013) Legal personality Governmental: Government agency General nature Law enforcement
Civilian agency | ||
Counter Terrorism Centre (Hungarian: Terrorelhárítási Központ, TEK) is the SWAT state agency of Hungary, specialized for counter-terrorism, hostage crisis, gun violence, capturing dangerous criminals and protecting the Hungarian government and Hungarian citizens worldwide. They are the Hungarian equivalent of the German GSG 9 and the French GIGN.
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It belongs to the Hungarian Ministry of Interior, headed by Sándor Pintér. TEK headquarters is located at Zách street (close to Hungária Boulevard), Pál Maléter Barracks, Kőbánya, Budapest, Hungary.
TEK was founded by the Second Cabinet of Viktor Orbán on 1 September 2010. According to the Hungarian ombudsman, TEK is the most professional, well-financed and well-equipped state agency in the country.
Role
Equipment and vehicles
Detailed information about the equipment of TEK is not public, but according to the Hungarian media it uses armoured Audi Q7 luxury SUVs and BTR-80 armoured personnel carriers. According to Sándor Pintér, the Minister of Interior, TEK doesn't use tanks.
Notable operations
On 2010 Units of TEK deployed in order to arrest members of extreme BDSM website Mood Pictures in Budapest
On 10 October 2011, during World War Z filming in Budapest, TEK invaded the crew's stores and also seized several guns, sniper rifles etc. which were used for filming. According to the official statement producers failed to consult with the authorities and despite of the import documentation's indication, all weapons were found to be fully functional. Later prosecutor's office dropped the charges in February 2012.
On August 13, 2012, three Hungarian nationals were held hostage by Syrian gunmen in Damascus. A detachment from TEK was deployed to Syria to set free the Hungarians. They arrived in Budapest on August 27, 2012 without injury.
In 2015 and 2016 the Europe-wide terrorist attacks and threat resulted in increased funds and constant readiness for TEK. They cooperated with the army and police to secure & patrol Budapest after the March 22 Brussels attacks.