May 3, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Kallithea: suitcases with hundreds of passports stolen from ELTA car

The police authorities were alarmed by the theft of citizens’ passports from the post office car. According to reports, the incident took place at 13:45 on Eleftheriou Venizelou Street in the Athens district of Kallithea, when an ELTA employee driving a car stopped for a few minutes at a kiosk.

Unknown people broke into the car and stole 2 suitcases with several hundred passports of citizensthat were sent by the passport office. It is reported that the suitcases are equipped with a tracking system and were sent to two different departments.

It has not yet been established whether the unknown ambushed the postal worker, but it seems that their actions were organized, since, judging by the panic in the police, the tracking systems were immediately blocked. Blocking usually consists of placing the suitcase in a radio-protected container, such as a Faraday cage. Professional smartphone thieves are familiar with these simple devices and use them everywhere.

On the black market, an original Greek passport can cost up to 2,000 euros. Even if sold in bulk, the criminals got a solid booty. However, as experience shows, these could be gypsies who traditionally “herd” such drivers at kiosks and cafes, as happened more than once with acquaintances of the author of the publication.

While the driver, leaving the car “for a minute”, goes to the kiosk to buy something and leaves the doors unlocked, the attackers open them and drag the first object or bag they see. Similar situations can also occur at intersections, when gypsies run up to a stopped car, offering to wash the headlights or sell something. While the driver is distracted, they open the trunk or rear doors and take what they have time. The only thing that stands out from this version is that the criminals have an analogue of the “Faraday cage”.

For reference: the easiest way to protect against such intruders is to close the central lock from the inside for the entire trip around the city. And if you get out of the car, even for a minute, you need to close the doors and windows.



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