Four Chinese nationals detained in Greece for taking photos of Rafale fighter jets
Fighter jet (Illustrative photo: Orestis Panagiotou/EPA)

Four Chinese nationals were detained in Greece for taking pictures of fighter jets and Greek aerospace industry facilities. This was reported by the media Protothema.

The city of Tanagra was put on alert when four Chinese nationals were caught taking pictures of sensitive military installations in the area. Their actions were deemed suspicious and raised concerns about espionage, as the pictures they took included Rafale fighter jets.

According to media reports, the four people – two men, a woman and a young man – were first noticed by security officers of the Greek Aerospace Industry, who asked them to leave the area. However, they moved to a nearby bridge and continued to take pictures of the objects.

The Air Force police of the 114th Combat Wing were immediately informed of the incident. They intervened, found the foreigners and brought them in for questioning. The Chinese nationals were handed over to local police and taken to the station.

According to preliminary reports, they found a significant amount of photographic material from the area. Authorities are currently investigating whether this was an isolated incident or part of a more systematic intelligence-gathering operation .

The case is being investigated with the utmost seriousness, and the relevant security services are already examining the evidence.

  • On July 9, the SBU announced the detention in Kyiv of two Chinese citizens on suspicion of espionage. According to the investigation, they were collecting data on Ukraine's Neptune missile system.
  • The country's Foreign Ministry said that it was checking the data on the detention of two citizens in Kyiv.