A 58-year-old prisoner has been accused of blackmailing the owners of stolen cars and boats into giving him money in exchange for a promise to recover the stolen craft or vehicle – which was not in his possession.

The prisoner, serving a jail sentence in Malandrino, central Greece, would call police and coast guard services and ask for information on stolen cars or boats, pretending to be a senior police officer.

Using the information he had obtained by calling from the prison pay phone, the suspect is believed to have then contacted the owners of the stolen goods and offered to return the items if they agreed to pay him a certain amount of money via a postal order.

Police said that the prisoner is believed to have made eight attempts to trick victims in different cities in Greece.