Man held for holiday scam

Through a travel agency called 'Just Fly', Gopi advertised attractive tourism packages, but failed to organise them or return the money

Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the city police on Saturday arrested a man who cheated over 300 persons of over Rs. 4 crore by promising them fancy overseas holiday packages.

CCB sources identified the suspect as Gopi alias Gopalakrishnan (44), a resident of Korukkupet, who ran a travel agency Just Fly in Nungambakkam. Gopi advertised attractive offers of holidays to countries including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and collected huge sums from individuals and groups.

Gopi collected Rs. 1.65 lakh from Ramasubramanium of Mylapore in May after promising him a package for Bangkok. Gopi did not arrange the trip and failed to return the money despite repeated requests.

Following a complaint lodged by Ramasubramanium with the police commissionerate, a CCB team probed the matter and arrested Gopi on Saturday afternoon.