September 20, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Eliminated a gang that sold counterfeit students "professional pilot licenses"


The Greek police have eliminated a gang that helped students pass exams to obtain a license as a professional aircraft pilot. Neither the gang nor the brainless students were squeamish about obtaining a license that could endanger the lives of hundreds of people.

A criminal organization accused of rigging license exam results has been arrested by the Organized Crime and Transnational Affairs Department of the Hellenic Police Security Directorate.

During the operation, carried out on Thursday May 11 in a wide area of ​​Athens, three men aged 43, 69 and 70 were arrested, who were members of a criminal organization, as well as two more people who were taking exams as future aircraft pilots, the publication reports. ethnos.

Against those arrested, as well as another 10 people who “passed” the exams earlier, a criminal organization is involved in issuing false certificates of a pilot as an accomplice, a follower and by profession, as well as an attempt to obtain a false certificate as an accomplice.

According to the Greek police, the criminal organization began its activities no later than January 2023 and was engaged in falsifying the results of the examination process for obtaining an aircraft pilot’s license using audiovisual equipment installed in the clothes of the examinees.

Thus, microphones and cameras were fixed on the clothes.


The examinees for the professional aircraft pilot license were mainly students of pilot schools who either failed to obtain a specific license after unsuccessful attempts, or did not want to study the theoretical material of the examination courses.

Candidates for a license were approached by members of the criminal organization either through those who managed to get a license in the same non-standard way, or through people who worked in the aviation industry as instructors for pilot candidates. Candidates were informed about the methodology and guided by audio-visual devices to select the correct answers.

It is noted that the defendants preferred the exams of a certified company in one of the European countries, since the candidates’ questions were published on an online platform, and thus the members of the criminal organization could see the correct answers.

If a candidate attended an experimental school abroad, the gang issued him a certificate of study from a corresponding school located in one of the cities of Northern Greece. The certificate falsely confirmed the student’s participation in a theoretical course. Foreign candidates living abroad were screened at the company’s headquarters in Greece, while their actions went unnoticed.

The criminal organization managed to issue professional pilot licenses to at least five people. According to police estimates, the defendants received a total of about 40,000 euros after each candidate paid an average of 7,800 euros. At the same time, it is confirmed that 10 more people have previously obtained pilot licenses.

During the operation, the police confiscated the amount of 5570 euros, 7 micro cameras, 9 flea-type headphones, 2 shirts with an electronic device with a micro camera built into their inside and on the left sleeve, as well as a number of sim cards, usb and tablets. The arrested were taken to the prosecutor, the police investigation continues.

It is worth noting that several criminal organizations used similar methods when passing exams for driving diplomas. At the same time, the criminals were caught and arrested, and their cases were loudly covered in the media, incl. and on pages our publication. The fact that such machinations are quite easy to calculate, I think, was also known to the arrested “candidates for pilots.” However, laziness or inability to pass the exam legally outweighed caution.

Now criminals face a term of at least 10 years for falsifying government documents or participating in forgery, and failed pilots will go as accomplices under the same articles, but they face a slightly shorter prison term.



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