News & Analysis

Four people have been found guilty of conspiring to defraud holidaymakers out of millions of pounds.

Here is the trail of bogus travel businesses that led to their conviction...

2004: Ciao Travel Ltd, trading under the name Sun – 2,035 victims, losses of £1.8 million

2005: Onshine Ltd, trading under the name of Sunsplash – losses of £1.8 million

2005: Grayrise Associates, trading under the name of Elite Travel – losses of £1.7 million

2006: Orange Sun Ltd trading under the names holidays4under200pound.com, unbeatableholidays.com – losses of £620,000

2006: Sun Orient trading under the name of sunmed-resorts.com – no losses as police action taken

Later in 2006 The Metropolitan Police becomes aware of the group’s activities when a terrorist alert grounds all flights out of the UK.

The police are alerted when customers ringing the agencies to check their flights are still valid find the flights do not exist.

People contact hotels to check bookings to find no reservations have been made. The authorities are inundated with calls about Islington-based Sun Orient.