Two men arrested for Hajj package scam

Police have arrested two men and seized around £400,000 at travel agencies in East London as part of a nationwide investigation into Hajj fraud.

The agencies are suspected of selling packages, with false or no travel protection, to Saudi Arabia in October to make the pilgrimage to the Mecca and celebrate Hajj.

The raids were made following a major investigation by Birmingham City Council Trading Standards and City of London Police.

The operation, led by Birmingham Trading Standards, saw detectives and Trading Standards officers from Birmingham and Newham gain access to a residential property in east London before moving down the road to search a travel agency.

Neither of the traders at the two properties searched were legally permitted to sell Hajj trips.

The two men, aged 37 and 42, were taken to a local police station for questioning and were later released on bail.

Police said tens of thousands of British Muslims will have booked Hajj packages, but in the coming weeks some of them will unfortunately find out that their once-in-a-lifetime trip has been ‘soured by sub-standard hotels and travel arrangements or completely destroyed by criminals selling scam Hajj packages for non-existent flights, accommodation and visas’.

The raid comes as the City of London Police, the National Policing Lead for Fraud, and Birmingham Trading Standards continue a campaign to prevent Muslims falling victim to fraudsters selling scam Mecca packages.

In the last few months, police officers from forces across the UK have been going out into their Muslim communities with crime prevention advice to reduce the number of victims.

"Hajj fraud damages and, in some cases, completely destroys people’s dreams of making a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Mecca," said City of London Police Commander Steve Head, who is also the Police National Coordinator for Economic Crime.

"Tackling this problem continues to be a major priority for the City of London Police and this operation with Birmingham Trading Standards highlights our determination to disrupt any operation that we believe is a threat to Muslims who are looking to book Hajj packages in good faith."

Andy Cohen, head of ATOL at the CAA, said: "Any UK travel business selling air packages, which includes Hajj pilgrimages, must have ATOL protection; it’s as simple as that.

"Sadly, we have seen cases of businesses selling Hajj package deals that either don’t have the ATOL protection they should have, or are falsely claiming to have ATOL protection when they are not a registered ATOL company. This potentially leaves consumers booking with these companies at risk of being left out of pocket.

"It is really important customers look beyond the price and check and double check that the travel business has ATOL protection – and ensure they receive an ATOL certificate once they pay any money towards their trip."

Anyone who has concerns about Hajj travel packages or thinks they may have been a victim of Hajj fraud can email [email protected] or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit the website: www.actionfraud.police.uk.