A peculiar case emerged from the eastern Aegean Island of Chios (Hios) this week with the arrest of two Turkish men, 62 and 72, and the confiscation of some 12,500 so-called “dumb phones”.
One-third of the specific phones, with press buttons instead of the now ubiquitous smartphone mode, were first located aboard a Turkish-flagged yacht anchored at the popular island main marina. The rest of the devices, of various brands, were discovered inside a van with German license plates near the port.
Coast guard officials, in cooperation with the intelligence service, believe the pair aimed to transport the phones to Turkey, ostensibly for use by criminal networks in the neighboring country.
No purchase documentation was found either on the vessel or the vehicle, and no legal means of transport was apparent, while the phones had been removed from the packaging.
The total value of the confiscated “dumb phones” was estimated at near 700,000.
