Stars 'buy' fake boat permits

ACTORS, footballers and popstars are among those caught up in a police investigation of the sale of fake boat permits in Marseille.

Over the past three years maritime authority the Direction Régionale des Affaires Maritimes de Marseille has handed out more than 6,000 fake permits to celebs who paid up to €1,500.

No identities of those having bought permits have been officially revealed.

The warrant officer leading the inquiry, Laurent Houssais, said: “People have been buying them because they don’t have the time to obtain them legally.

“At the Vieux-Port in Marseille an association had been created with the sole aim of allowing candidates to obtain fake permits. Many jet ski retailers were even ‘giving’ permits to every buyer.”

The discovery of the racket dates back to police checks carried out by Toulon gendarmerie in 2007 which found many people piloting boats and jet skis had little knowledge of maritime regulations and were vague when questioned about how they had obtained their licences.

Subsequent investigations revealed a network of fraud offering people the chance to pay sums of between €400 and €1,500 for varying permits.

Twelve people are being questioned for fraud, including an executive from the Direction Régionale des Affaires Maritimes, and an examiner and manager of a boat permit test centre.