While the police continue to search for a travel agent who allegedly defrauded over 30 customers of some $9 million, the Muneshwer’s Limited Travel Service says it is putting measures in place to prevent a reoccurrence.
A police source confirmed to Stabroek News that they have been unable to locate the Priya Lall, who was formerly employed with the travel agency. The source explained that the woman is believed to have fled the country for the United States of America. As a result, the force is collaborating with US counterparts to locate her.
On Monday, the company placed an ad informing the public that Lall, who has worked with the company for some seven years, was no longer employed with it and was therefore not authorised to conduct business on its behalf.
A representative of the company, who did not want to be named, also explained that it has been in contact with Lall’s family here and has been trying to resolve the issue.
“We were in negotiations and trying our best with her family here but we are not getting anywhere and they said that they don’t have money but would be getting lawyers. We wanted to settle it before it gets out of control but at the end they said they can’t do anything and they don’t have money,” the company’s representative explained.
Lall was reportedly able to exploit a loophole in the company’s system to issue allegedly fake tickets and itineraries to customers while collecting payments from them.
According to the representative, a total of 30 persons have since visited the establishment claiming to have been defrauded. Those who have their tickets or itineraries along with a receipt were able to get a refund from the company.
“She [Lall] was deleting the prices and editing ticket information and giving it to them. It wasn’t an actual ticket but an edited one that she had stored,” the representative noted.
In order to prevent a similar occurrence, the representative explained that the company has started putting other systems in place to ensure that customers receive their correct tickets and receipts.
“We are putting things in place, ensuring that passengers are collecting their receipts. We are putting up notices and showing customers what exactly they should look for on their tickets to ensure that it is not fake,” the representative said.
