For at least 18 months, the 54-year-old commander of the 128th Wing at Kavouri had developed a channel of communication with China, funneling information of vital and national importance to Beijing; a fact that demonstrates that the Asian “giant” has managed to penetrate Europe.

Those who know him speak of an exceptionally intelligent Air Force officer who, through his actions, opened the back door to sensitive information of the Armed Forces. A trip he took to China has come under the microscope of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the competent authorities.

Meanwhile, on Friday afternoon, he was granted a deadline to testify on Tuesday, February 10.

How he “broke” to NIS officers and confessed everything

The 54-year-old wing commander, who was not a pilot but specialized in Telecommunications–Electronics (T/E), was a particularly important factor in what now wins wars: information.

He knew in every detail the telecommunications spectrum, including communications, frequencies, and radar systems.

Modern warfare is now conducted in five dimensions: on land, in the air, at sea, in cyberspace, and in space. The common denominator across all these fields is information. It is what provides the advantage—and it was this advantage that the 54-year-old was giving to the Chinese.

The NIS, in cooperation with foreign intelligence services such as the CIA, had placed the 54-year-old under scrutiny at least since last October, initially trying to confirm information that the officer was a Chinese spy and, by extension, to determine what exactly he was passing on to Beijing.

Unfortunately, the first point was confirmed fairly quickly, and subsequently the services determined that the wing commander was photographing documents and information and sending them to China via an encrypted device provided to him by his handlers.

When the operation took place yesterday morning at the wing where he was commander and the 54-year-old was arrested, computers, mobile phones, hard drives, and USB sticks were immediately seized and will be sent to laboratories for analysis. At the same time, a raid was carried out at his home, where a laptop was found, and the special device he was using was also located.

During his interrogation, after many contradictions, the wing commander eventually “broke” before two NIS officers, to whom he revealed everything, providing details about his handler (his contact), who is based in China. Therefore, Greek services now know who the recipient of the sensitive information was.

What is of particular interest is that the 54-year-old appears to have been initially approached by the Chinese via a message he received on an online application he uses, from which the process of his recruitment began.

It has also been established that in recent months he had traveled to China, with Greek services attempting to piece together the puzzle of this espionage thriller.

What now matters is determining whether there were other individuals who assisted him in his activities. So far, information indicates that no involvement of another person has emerged, although, as officials note, “the investigation has only just begun.”