The fake Ebro agency that has left twenty minors without an end-of-year trip

BarcelonaEverything was planned, and also purchased. The chosen destination was Tenerife, and the price per student was around 200 euros. It was the end-of-year trip for the 4th year ESO class of the Perelló institute, a town with less than 3,000 inhabitants in the Baix Ebre region. But it all ended up being a scam that reached 5,000 euros. The travel agency chosen to plan the trip was Viatges Albada Tours, based in L'Ametlla de Mar. Its motto is: "Your trusted travel agency." The owner of the company, a 50-year-old man, ended up arrested last Thursday by the Mossos d'Esquadra for a crime of fraud.

According to police sources, the amount of money swindled would reach 93,000 euros, which means that the scam on the 4th year ESO students from El Perelló was only a small part of all that was allegedly stolen. The scam was not identified in time: when it was time to travel, according to police sources, the institute realised that it had not contracted anything. Among those swindled there is also a bus company and other companies that the agency had falsely subcontracted. In total, at this point there would be around fifty victims. When the time came to make the trip a reality, the man always disappeared.

New victims are not ruled out

"With us you will find an agent willing to design your ideal trip to any place in the world at the best guaranteed price," the detainee assured on his website, which is still active. On the portal there are offers at surprisingly cheap prices, such as a trip to the Greek island of Naxos for just over 100 euros. It also offers cruises, activities for groups... The complaints of those affected by this lack of services led the Mossos to this man. Now the investigation is progressing, and new victims are not ruled out.