Travel agent arrested in ₹16.48 lakh package tour fraud

Thousand Lights police have arrested Rajadurai, 29, a travel agent from Madhavaram Milk Colony, for allegedly cheating two parties of ₹16.48 lakh on the pretext of arranging flight tickets for package tours.

Police said Tamizhendran, 23, of Goripalayam, Madurai, along with 11 of his friends, was searching for travel agents while planning a trip to Thailand. After coming across an advertisement on Instagram, he approached a travel agency located on Anna Salai, opposite Anna Flyover, in Thousand Lights. The agency’s proprietor, Rajadurai, promised to arrange a package tour to Thailand for 12 persons, including flight tickets and related transactions, for a total of ₹7.5 lakh. He assured them that flight tickets would be booked to travel on January 28.

Believing him, Tamizhendran and his friends paid ₹7.59 lakh through a link provided by Rajadurai. However, when the group reached Chennai airport on January 28, Rajadurai neither answered their calls nor appeared in person. Later, he switched off his mobile phone and went absconding. Based on a complaint lodged by Tamizhendran, the Thousand Lights Crime Wing registered a case and began an investigation.

In another case, Suresh, 29, of Perumbakkam, who runs a travel business, had arranged a Kashmir package tour for 49 passengers from January 17 to 20. Rajadurai, proprietor of the agency and known to Suresh, assured him that he would arrange flight tickets to Kashmir and received ₹8.8 lakh. However, Rajadurai failed to provide the tickets as promised. To avoid inconvenience to his customers, Suresh reportedly spent an additional ₹5 lakh to purchase the tickets himself.

When Suresh demanded a refund, Rajadurai returned only ₹4.81 lakh. Later, he switched off his mobile phone, closed his office, and went into hiding. Based on Suresh’s complaint, the police registered another case.

Following investigation, Thousand Lights Crime Investigation Wing arrested Rajadurai in connection with the two cases.