The Greek coastguard is using drones to monitor boats at night in a move to tackle tax evasion . The initiative was instigated by finance ministry tax inspectors with drones being launched from Santorini, an island highly popular with tourists. The Greek economy relies heavily on tourism , and with some estimates that undocumented commercial activity accounts for 25 % of national output , clamping down on taxes for tourist boats may prove lucrative . The drones , which fly over boats and determine the number of passengers , have been trialled on the island of Crete . When checking the number of passengers on board against the receipts submitted , nine tourist boats were found to have under - paid tax by a total of € 25,000 ( $ 28,000 ) .
The Greek coastguard is using drones to monitor boats at night in a move to tackle tax evasion . The Greek economy relies heavily on tourism , and with some estimates that undocumented commercial activity accounts for 25 % of national output , clamping down on taxes for tourist boats may prove lucrative . The drones , which fly over boats and determine the number of passengers , have been trialled on the island of Crete . When checking the number of passengers on board against the receipts submitted , nine tourist boats were found to have under - paid tax by a total of € 25,000 ( $ 28,000 ) .