Police arrested two men and seized an estimated £400,000 in raids on two properties operating as travel agencies in East London yesterday.
City of London Police and Birmingham City Council Trading Standards said the raids formed part of an ongoing fraud investigation into agencies suspected of selling Hajj packages with false or non-existent financial protection.
The arrested men were released on bail after questioning on suspicion of selling package holidays, including Hajj pilgrimages, and either falsely claiming to have Atol protection or selling unlicensed packages.
The operation was led by Birmingham Trading Standards officers, who said neither of the traders was legally permitted to sell such trips.
In a statement, City of London Police said: “Tens of thousands of British Muslims have booked trips to Saudi Arabia in October to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
“Unfortunately, some will find that once-in-a-lifetime trips have been soured by sub-standard hotels and travel arrangements or destroyed by criminals selling scam Hajj packages for non-existent flights, accommodation and visas.”
City of London Police and Birmingham Trading Standards are running in a national campaign against the fraudulent sale of Hajj packages.
Police national coordinator for economic crime, City of London Police commander Steve Head, said: “Hajj fraud damages and in some cases destroys people’s dreams of making a trip to Mecca. Tackling this problem continues to be a major priority for City of London Police.”
Birmingham Trading Standards head Sajeela Naseer said: “The action by our officers and City of London Police related to businesses we believe are defrauding and misleading their customers.
“We are identifying many more operators like these who are trading through the internet or advertising. We believe this is an under-reported but widespread problem.”
Civil Aviation Authority head of Atol Andy Cohen added: “Any UK travel business selling air packages must have Atol protection.
“We’ve seen cases of businesses selling Hajj package deals that either don’t have Atol protection or are falsely claiming to have Atol protection when they are not a registered company.”
Cohen said: “It is important customers look beyond the price and check and double check a travel business has Atol protection – and ensure they receive an Atol certificate once they pay any money.”
Atol licences are numbered and can be checked online at caa.co.uk/checkanatol