The police found this family of three and detained the mother as she tried to board a plane after an expensive 11-day stay in Gran Canaria, according to “The Sun”.
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The managers of a hotel in the San Bartolome de Tirachana resort reported a possible theft to the police after the trio left without paying a huge bill. The stay was booked through the resort’s website, and the clients provided a credit card number as a guarantee deposit.
However, when hotel staff tried to process the bill, the transaction failed. The staff urgently tried to contact the family, but they were already on their way to the airport.
The police launched a search operation to find the suspects – the mother, father, and child. The video captures the moment when the police stopped the mother at the Gran Canaria airport border control checkpoint.
While detained at the airport, the woman, who did not reveal her name, said that the payment failed due to problems with the bank card. She explained to the officers that she intended to pay but could not use the bank card because she was already at the airport at that time.
A National Police representative working on this resort island stated: “In the end, she cut off all communication without paying the remaining amount.”
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The woman’s age has not yet been confirmed, but the police indicated that she is Irish. Suspected of fraud, she was taken to the Maspalomas police station and handed over to a judge.
The resort island police said in their statement: “The National Police is firmly committed to protecting the tourism sector of the Canary Islands – an important pillar of the archipelago’s economy – and strengthening cooperation with hotels to combat any criminal activity affecting their operations.”
Visitors are also reminded that attempts to avoid payment for services provided will be referred to the police for investigation to determine whether there are grounds for criminal liability.
This happened after one so-called family was repeatedly accused of leaving without paying for luxurious and hearty meals, with a total value exceeding £1,000. An eight-person family was publicly shamed by the Italian restaurant “Bella Ciao” for allegedly leaving without paying for £329 worth of food. Later, three more restaurants publicly warned about the same family, and at least seven restaurants are believed to have reported these incidents to the police.
This family faces up to two years in prison for thefts – a series of cases over the past eight months where bills were left unpaid in restaurants. The group is led by a middle-aged couple; during the last such incident, they even took a toddler sitting in a high chair.
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