“Karaïskaki Square, watch out – they’re cutting tickets” – See the messages in Viber groups about Traffic Police roadblocks
A 29-year-old and a 55-year-old had set up the online community, which numbered about 200,000 members - They gave information about the blockades in Athens, Thessaloniki and Crete - protothema reveals the messages they exchanged
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A 29-year-old and a 55-year-old man had set up an online community with 200,000 members to alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints in Athens, Thessaloniki, and Crete. Protothema.gr reveals the messages exchanged in these Viber groups.
The two arrested individuals were administrators of Viber groups that posted real-time updates on police traffic controls.
One managed a group focused on Attica,
while the other handled updates for Thessaloniki and Crete.
The first group had over 168,000 members, and the second more than 30,000. Although the groups were private, anyone who joined had full access and could post live updates about police checks by the Hellenic Police on the roads.
Protothema.gr obtained messages from the groups “Alarm moto” that exposed the operation of these online “lookouts.”
One message read:
“Karaïskaki Square, watch out — they’re cutting tickets.”
Another member warned:
“Agioi Anargyroi, they’re writing tickets by the church using a crane,” alerting other drivers about a police checkpoint where officers were issuing fines for traffic code violations.
In another post, a user provided an exact location of police controls outside a café in Petroupoli, while someone else reported a mixed police unit on Kifisias Avenue conducting inspections for emission cards, vehicle inspections (KTEO), and helmet use among motorcyclists.
A final message read:
“They’re cutting tickets near Karaïskaki Square — avoid the northern gate of the airport towards Spata.”
