British gang held in Spain over £15m holiday scam

ALMOST 40 British people have been arrested over a Costa del Sol timeshare scam that duped hundreds of UK holidaymakers out of £15million.

Spanish police yesterday said that the gang of 36 – allegedly led by a British man, his wife, his son and daughter-in-law – were accused of taking deposits from about 500 people for holiday packages which never materialised.

A spokesman said: ‘Officers have smashed a criminal organisation specialising in timeshare fraud.’

The suspects, who are mostly British, allegedly used forged documents to pose as legitimate businessmen, while they also had accomplices who would try to dupe victims a second time by claiming they could help them get their money back.

It is understood that each victim is out of pocket by between £550 and £2,700.

During raids on a lawyer’s office and what is believed to be the gang’s HQ in

‘Realised they had been duped’

the city of Velez-Malaga, east of Malaga, police seized a Ferrari, a yacht, more than £100,000 in cash, ten designer watches, gemstones and other high-end cars.

The National Police said in a statement: ‘The suspects contacted potential victims, all timeshare owners and all British, and offered them the possibility of acquiring a holiday package as well as selling their timeshare to other buyers.

‘After reaching agreement with the victims, they would dupe them into making bank transfers. The victims realised after the sale or purchase didn’t go through that they had been duped.’

None of the suspects were named at yesterday’s press conference.

The raids came after police were asked to act on a complaint filed by a lawyer acting for 33 British people who said they had fallen victim to a timeshare scam.