The National Police reported this Tuesday that they have dismantled a criminal organization that had defrauded 8,395,241 euros from more than 3,221 tourists in the municipalities of Arona and Adeje, in the south of Tenerife.
The tourists were attracted to bazaars, where they made purchases and gave their personal data, and the members of the dismantled organization made fraudulent charges with card payment terminals and "advanced" technology, and then prepared false invoices for the illegal charges in case of complaint.
The number of people arrested or who were part of this organization has not been disclosed, and, according to the National Police, they used up to 17 names of commercial bazaars in the municipalities of Arona and Adeje.
The establishments appeared to be conventional businesses, and the investigators have pointed out that the owner of one of those shops with the highest number of fraudulent transactions is missing, so an international arrest warrant has been requested.
The National Police and Customs Surveillance are keeping the investigation open and are working in cooperation with Europol and consulates of various affected countries to locate the victims.
The National Police urges any tourist who suspects they have been a victim of this network to file a complaint, in order to contribute to the recovery of the defrauded funds and strengthen legal actions against those responsible.